Whether the plain reading of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines requires that the prior offense be more than simple possession

QUESTION PRESENTED The Federal Sentencing Guidelines require a base offense level of 43 if the defendant is “convicted under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), or (b)(1)(C)”, “the offense of conviction establishes that death or serious bodily injury resulted from the use of the substance”, and the defendant “ committed the offense after one or more prior convictions for a similar offense.” The Sixth Circuit has determined that this last phrase, “similar offense”, means any felony drug offense, including possession offenses. Does the plain reading of the Guideline require that the prior offense be more than simple possession? ii