What qualifies as a “mixture” when determining the amount of drugs?

Both NY and federal drug laws determine amounts based on the total “preparation, mixture, compound, or substance containing” the banned substance. Figuring out what qualifies as a mixture and what doesn’t can be a difficult legal issue. The federal sentencing guidelines commentary to §2D1.1 offers some assistance:
“Mixture or substance does not include materials that must be separated from the controlled substance before the controlled substance can be used. Examples of such materials include the fiberglass in a cocaine/fiberglass bonded suitcase, beeswax in a cocaine/beeswax statue, and waste water from an illicit laboratory used to manufacture a controlled substance.”
In other instances where the delivery method cannot be separated from another substance, such as the blotter paper and LSD, both are counted towards the drug weight.
Different drug weights carry vastly different sentences, so you should consult an attorney who knows how to handle this issue. Daniel A. McGuinness has years of experience with successfully arguing for lower drug weights than initially accused.