Polk

*349 *357 Is there any quantity of a controlled substance that is too small to be a "usable quantity" under California law?

Our answer in today's opinion, at least in my view, is no. I join the opinion but write to explain this answer. Under our reading of existing law, the "usable quantity" element-counter to the ordinary meaning of those words-does not actually depend on the quantity of the drug in the defendant's possession. In this case, any measurable quantity of methamphetamine would suffice to support defendant's conviction; we hold that a small quantity of that drug here was sufficient, even though its precise amount was unknown and could be the smallest amount measurable by the laboratory. Under our reasoning, it is sufficient that some quantity of the drug was in a form suitable for consumption. Under the law as we find it, a drug is in a usable quantity simply if it-in whatever quantity-is possessed in a form that is typical for (or at least amenable to) controlled substance ingestion.

I

In his jail area, defendant Tanner Joseph Polk possessed eight scraps of paper, four of which were lab-tested for the presence of methamphetamine. Three of those-weighing .017 grams,…

MILLER J.

*338 *342 Defendant and appellant Tanner Joseph Polk, an inmate at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, was found in his area with eight small pieces of cut-up and numbered paper, along with a greeting card. A correctional officer touched the paper and some of it had a grainy feel. The correctional officer had learned from other prison officers during routine *343 training that a current trend in the prisons was the possession of methamphetamine-infused paper. He did a preliminary test at the prison and discovered the presence of methamphetamine on one piece of paper and on a small corner of the greeting card. The paper was tested at a laboratory, and some of the papers were found to contain methamphetamine; the remainder of the greeting card tested negative.

Defendant was found guilty of possession of methamphetamine while in prison. ( Pen. Code, § 4573.6.) 1 Defendant admitted he had suffered one prior serious or violent felony conviction (§§ 667, subds. (c), (e)(1), 1170.12, subd. (c)(1)). Defendant was sentenced to six years in state prison.

Defendant makes the following claims on appeal: (1) insufficient evidence was presented to support that he…