United States v. Ramos
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
814 F.3d 910 (2016)
Mary Ann Ramos (defendant), a cellphone store manager, sold customers who asked for "potpourri" by its street name packets branded "Blue," "Mr. Happy," and "Mr. Nice Guy," charging high prices, ringing up no sales, collecting no tax, and keeping the packets hidden from public view; a lab later confirmed Mr. Nice Guy, despite its "cannabinoid free" label, actually contained the controlled synthetic cannabinoid XLR-11. She was convicted of controlled-substance distribution offenses and appealed, arguing the government failed to prove she knew the product contained XLR-11 specifically.
Whether the knowledge element of controlled-substance-distribution offenses refers to general criminal intent rather than to knowledge of a substance's specific content.