Question

Most states categorize possession of cocaine charges by weight. Possessing less than a gram will result in the lowest level of felony. From there, the weight categories are broken into degrees. The higher the weight, the higher degree of felony charged. New York State uses the measures given in the table below to charge a suspect.Amount Charge

Over ⅛ oz. Class C felony
Over ½ oz. Class B felony
Over 2 oz. Class A-II felony
Over 4 oz. Class A-I felony

If a suspect is in possession of .06 kilograms of cocaine how many ounces does he possess? What will be the charge?

Answer 1

Over 2 oz. Class A-II felony

Explanation:

One would need to carefully weigh the material.*

0.06 kg ≈ 2.12 oz

Note that .06 kg is 1 significant figure, so this rounds to 2 oz (1 significant figure). Given the precision of the reported weight, there is insufficient precision to say the amount is actually over 2 oz.

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If you take the numbers at face value, the suspect is in possession of over 2 oz, so will be charged with a Class A-II felony.

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* 2.00 ounces translates to about 0.0567 kg, which rounds to 0.06 kg.