T.P.I. -- CRIM. 31.12

UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF ANHYDROUS AMMONIA

            Any person who commits the unlawful offense of possession of Anhydrous Ammonia is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:¹

            (1)       that the defendant possessed anhydrous ammonia;

and

(2)(a) that the defendant intended to use anhydrous ammonia in the manufacture of a controlled substance;

or

            (b)       that the defendant intended to knowingly convey such anhydrous ammonia to another for use in the manufacturing of a controlled substance.

              "Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally with respect to the nature of the conduct or to a result of the conduct when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.²

                "Knowingly" means that a person acts knowingly with respect to the conduct or to circumstances surrounding the conduct when the person is aware of the nature of the conduct or that the circumstances exist.  A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of the person's conduct when the person is aware that the conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result.³

            [The requirement of ‘knowingly’ is also established if it is shown that the defendant acted intentionally.]⁴

            “Manufacture” means the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, conversion or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container, except that this term does not include the preparation or compounding of a controlled substance by an individual for the individual’s own use or the preparation, compounding, packaging or labeling of a controlled substance.⁵

[                                         is a Schedule                   controlled substance.]⁶

            [There are two types of possession recognized in the law: actual possession and constructive possession.  A person who knowingly has direct physical control over an object at a given time is then in actual possession of it.

A person who, although not in actual possession, knowingly has both the power and intention at any given time to exercise dominion and control over an object is then in constructive possession of it.]⁷

            [The law also recognizes that possession may be sole or joint.⁸   If one (1) person alone has actual or constructive possession of a thing, possession is sole.  If two (2) or more persons have actual or constructive possession of a thing, their possession is joint.]

FOOTNOTES

  1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-433.

  2.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(18).

  3.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-106(a)(20).

  4.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-301(a)(2).

  5.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-402(14).

  6.  “Controlled substance” means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in          Schedules I through VIII of Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-403 through I was out of the office in Jackson at a meeting yesterday so need to get at it.  39-17-           416 inclusive.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-402(4).

  7.  State v. Williams, 623 S.W.2d 121 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1981).

  8.  State v. Copeland, 677 S.W.2d 471 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1984).

COMMENTS

            1.   A violation of this section is a Class E Felony.