## Facts

- Meirl Gilbert Neal was arrested in 1988 for selling 11,456 doses of LSD on blotter paper.
- The combined weight of the LSD and blotter paper carrier was 109.51 grams.
- Neal pleaded guilty in federal district court to possession with intent to distribute LSD (21 U.S.C. § 841) and conspiracy (21 U.S.C. § 846).
- At the time of sentencing, both § 841(b)(1)(A)(v) and the Sentencing Guidelines used the “whole weight” of the LSD plus carrier medium, consistent with Supreme Court precedent interpreting the statute.
- Because 109.51 grams exceeded the 10-gram statutory threshold, the court applied the 10-year mandatory minimum and sentenced Neal to 192 months (within the then-applicable Guidelines range).
- In 1993, the Sentencing Commission amended the Guidelines to treat each LSD dose on a carrier as weighing 0.4 milligrams for Guidelines calculations; under this method Neal’s quantity would be 4.58 grams and the Guidelines range would be substantially lower.
- Neal sought a sentence reduction, arguing the Guidelines amendment should also control the statutory mandatory-minimum calculation; the district court reduced his sentence to 120 months (the statutory minimum) but held the statute still required the carrier-medium weight.
- The Seventh Circuit affirmed, recognizing that the statute and Guidelines employed different methods after the amendment.

## Issues

1. Whether 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(v) requires using the actual weight of the LSD carrier medium to determine mandatory minimum sentences.
2. Whether the Sentencing Commission’s amended Guidelines method (a per-dose presumptive weight) can supersede the Court’s prior interpretation of § 841(b)(1) for mandatory minimums.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed.
- Section 841(b)(1) continues to require mandatory-minimum calculations based on the actual weight of the “mixture or substance” containing LSD, including the carrier medium.
- The Sentencing Guidelines’ later adoption of a per-dose presumptive weight does not change the statute’s meaning or displace the Court’s prior interpretation.
- As applied, Neal’s 109.51-gram carrier-inclusive weight exceeded the 10-gram threshold, so the 10-year mandatory minimum applied; the Guidelines amendment could not reduce that statutory floor.

## Legal Principles

- Once the Supreme Court has authoritatively construed a statute, that construction governs absent a statutory amendment by Congress.
- The Sentencing Commission’s Guidelines cannot override or revise statutory mandatory minimums set by Congress.
- For LSD under § 841(b)(1), “mixture or substance containing a detectable amount” includes the carrier medium for purposes of mandatory minimum sentencing.
- Divergence between Guidelines methodology and statutory mandatory-minimum methodology is permissible when the statute and Guidelines point to different measures.

## Conclusion

The Court held that the statutory mandatory-minimum threshold for LSD offenses under § 841(b)(1) is determined by the actual weight of the LSD plus its carrier medium, and that a later Guidelines amendment using a per-dose presumptive weight affects only the Guidelines range, not the statutory minimum.


Neal v. United States, 516 U.S. 284 (1996)