Can a defendant be convicted of an attempted possession of a controlled substance for the purposes of completing the substantive offence?

Applying this settled California rule to the facts before us, we find that the trial court was correct in determining that completion of the substantive offense in the instant case was a factual impossibility, not a legal one, since the recipient of the designated chemical furnished by defendant was a police informant who would not in fact use the substance in the manufacture of a controlled substance, i.e., methamphetamine. However, as is clear from the California authorities summarized above, when commission of the substantive offense is factually impossible, a defendant may be convicted of an attempt to commit the offense when it is proven that he had the specific intent to commit the offense and did those acts he believed necessary to consummate it but failed to commit the statutory offense because, unknown to the actor, one or more of the essential elements of the offense were lacking. (People v. Meyers, supra, 213 Cal.App.2d at p. 523, 28 Cal.Rptr. 753.) Therefore, while defendant is correct that one cannot be convicted for attempting to do that which is legally impossible, defendant's conviction in the instant case was proper.