United States v. Head, No. 12-5800 (6th Cir. 2014)
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In 2009, Kamper, Head, and St. Onge began to manufacture and distribute MDMA (ecstacy) in Chattanooga. Kamper first proposed the idea of dealing drugs, supplied start-up funds, and ensured that the process stayed “on an even keel.” Head had access to chemicals through his laboratory job at a water treatment facility, and used his chemistry training to devise a method of producing MDMA from the sassafras plant. St. Onge used his experience dealing other drugs to organize a distribution network among deejays and others involved in the “rave scene.” They initially manufactured MDMA at Kamper’s home, but they later relocated to Georgia. After they sold drugs to a confidential informant, St. Onge cooperated with authorities. Kamper and Head appealed their 144-month sentences as unreasonable. Kamper also argued that the MDMA-to-marijuana equivalency ratio underlying his Guidelines sentencing range was based on faulty science, and that the court erred when it justified its refusal to reject the ratio with institutional concerns. The Sixth Circuit affirmed with respect to Kamper. The district court misunderstood its authority to reject and replace a Guidelines equivalency ratio based on policy disagreements, but the error was harmless. The court vacated Head’s sentence because the district court erred in applying a sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice.
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