Procedures governing the destruction of contraband drug evidence in the custody of Federal law enforcement authorities.
28 C.F.R. § 50.21
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) General. The procedures set forth below are intended as a statement of policy of the Department of Justice and will be applied by the Department in exercising its responsibilities under Federal law relating to the destruction of seized contraband drugs.
(b) Purpose. This policy implements the authority of the Attorney General under title I, section 1006(c)(3) of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Public Law 99-570 which is codified at 21 U.S.C. 881(f)(2), to direct the destruction, as necessary, of Schedule I and II contraband substances.
(c) Policy. This regulation is intended to prevent the warehousing of large quantities of seized contraband drugs which are unnecessary for due process in criminal cases. Such stockpiling of contraband drugs presents inordinate security and storage problems which create additional economic burdens on limited law enforcement resources of the United States.
(d) Definitions. As used in this subpart, the following terms shall have the meanings specified:
(1) The term Contraband drugs are those controlled substances listed in Schedules I and II of the Controlled Substances Act seized for violation of that Act.
(2) The term Marijuana is as defined in 21 U.S.C. 801(15) but does not include, for the purposes of this regulation, the derivatives hashish or hashish oil for purposes of destruction.
(3) The term Representative sample means the exemplar for testing and a sample aggregate portion of the whole amount seized sufficient for current criminal evidentiary practice.
(4) The term Threshold amount means:
(i) Two kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin;
(ii) Ten kilograms of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of—
(A) Coca leaves, except coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine, ecgonine, and derivatives of ecognine or their salts have been removed;
(B) Cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers;
(C) Ecgonine, its derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers; or
(D) Any compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of any of the substances referred to in paragraphs (d)(4)(ii) (A) through (C) of this section;
(iii) Ten kilograms of a mixture or substance described in paragraph (d)(4)(ii)(B) of this section which contains cocaine base;
(iv) Two hundred grams of powdered phencyclidine (PCP) or two kilograms of a powdered mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine (PCP) or 28.35 grams of a liquid containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine (PCP);
(v) Twenty grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD);
(vi) Eight hundred grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of N-phenyl-N[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidiny] propanamide (commonly known as fentanyl) or two hundred grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of any analogue of N-phenyl-N-[1-(2-phenylethyl)-4-piperidinyl propanamide; or
(vii) Twenty kilograms of hashish or two kilograms of hashish oil (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(D), 960(b)(4)).
(e) Procedures. Responsibilities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration.
(1) Immediately notify the appropriate U.S. Attorney, Assistant U.S. Attorney, or the responsible state/local prosecutor that the amount of seized contraband drug exceeding the threshold amount and its packaging, will be destroyed after sixty days from the date notice is provided of the seizures, unless the agency providing notice is requested in writing by the authority receiving notice not to destroy the excess contraband drug; and
(2) Assure that appropriate tests of samples of the drug are conducted to determined the chemical nature of the contraband substance and its weight sufficient to serve as evidence before the trial courts of that jurisdiction; and
(3) Photographically depict, and if requested by the appropriate prosecutorial authority, videotape, the contraband drugs as originally packaged or an appropriate display of the seized contraband drugs so as to create evidentiary exhibits for use at trial; and
(4) Isolate and retain the appropriate threshold amounts of contraband drug evidence when an amount greater than the appropriate threshold amount has been seized, or when less than the appropriate threshold amounts of contraband drugs have been seized, the entire amount of the seizure, with the exception of marijuana, for which a representative sample shall be retained; and
(5) Maintain the retained portions of the contraband drugs until the evidence is no longer required for legal proceedings, at which time it may be destroyed, first having obtained consent of the U.S. Attorney, an Assistant U.S. Attorney, or the responsible state/local prosecutor;
(6) Notify the appropriate U.S. Attorney, Assistant U.S. Attorney, or the responsible state/local prosecutor to obtain consent to destroy the retained amount or representative sample whenever the related suspect(s) has been a fugitive from justice for a period of five years. An exemplar sufficient for testing will be retained consistent with this section.
(f) Procedures. Responsibilities of the U.S. Attorney or the District Attorney (or equivalent state/local prosecutorial authority). When so notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Drug Enforcement Administration of an intent to destroy excess contraband drugs, the U.S. Attorney or the District Attorney (or equivalent) may:
(1) Agree to the destruction of the contraband drug evidence in excess of the threshold amount, or for marijuana in excess of the representative sample, prior to the normal sixty-day period. The U.S. Attorney, or the District Attorney (or equivalent) may delegate to his/her assistants authority to enter into such agreement; or
(2) Request an exception to the destruction policy in writing to the Special Agent in Charge of the responsible division prior to the end of the sixty-day period when retaining only the threshold amount or representative sample will significantly affect any legal proceedings; and
(3) In the event of a denial of the request may appeal the denial to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division. Such authority may not be redelegated. An appeal shall stay the destruction until the appeal is complete.
(g) Supplementary regulations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration are authorized to issue regulations and establish procedures consistent with this section.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-28.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026