Rubacalba

In a prosecution for possession of cocaine, is testimony as to the concentration of cocaine within the sample relevant to the question whether the amount of the substance is sufficient to be “used as a controlled substance”?

I. Facts

Los Angeles Police Officer Patrick Ullum testified that on July 5, 1990, he observed defendant look in the officer’s direction, then turn away. Defendant *64 raised his right hand towards his mouth, and dropped “an off-white object” that resembled rock cocaine. Defendant’s actions were consistent with trying to discard the object. Officer Ullum seized the item that defendant dropped and arrested him. Based upon his training and experience, Officer Ullum was of the opinion that the object, about one-quarter the size of an “aspirin,” was a “usable quantity.” Specifically, it “could be placed in a pipe or similar smoking device and smoked.”

On cross-examination, defendant attempted to ask about the amount of cocaine needed “to get one high” and the purity of the cocaine in the seized object. He argued the questions were relevant because “the crime requires that the quantity be usable to achieve an effect.” The court sustained a relevance…