CALIFORNIA DRUG AND NARCOTICS RELATED CRIMES

 

If you or someone you know has been arrested and or charged with a drug possession charge in California, you may be facing serious jail or prison time. California courts, and California law requires incarceration which means drug charges here are nothing to be taken lightly. Prosecutors can be extremely tough, so it is important that you consult with an experience California lawyer as soon as you can.

California Drug Possession Laws

The Federal government classifies drugs by “schedule”. This classification system is used to determine the seriousness of your offense and the potential sentence you may be facing. If a drug is considered more dangerous under California law, you will face harsher punishment for any offenses relating to it.

  • Schedule I drugs include those that are the most dangerous and have a high risk of addiction or dependency and no legitimate medical use. Drugs included under this heading include LSD, marijuana, heroin and mescaline.
  • Schedule II substances still have a high risk of abuse but may have legitimate medical uses. These include things like opium, cocaine, methadone, methamphetamines, and amphetamines.
  • Schedule III drugs are slightly less dangerous than Schedule II substances, but still have a moderate risk of abuse. Schedule III substances include anabolic steroids, testosterone, ketamine(special k), and some depressants.
  • Schedule IV drugs have a slight risk of dependency and have very acceptable medical uses. Some Schedule IV drugs are clonazepam, tranquilizers, and sedatives.
  • Schedule V substances have a very low risk of dependency and include things like Tylenol with Codeine.

What Drug Charges are Misdemeanors or Felonies in California?

Generally, mere possession of marijuana for personal use, or being under the influence of a drug and paraphernalia charges are filed as Misdemeanor cases.

However, many if not most drug charges in California are felonies. This means that if charged, you are facing prison time and a permanent felony mark on your record, forever changing your life. This will affect your future employment, or chances of becoming U.S. Citizen, and or possibly losing your permanent residence status (Green Card).

There are several drug charges that we can defend you against. We have experience defending cases of:

  • Drug Possession
  • Possession to Sell / Intent to Sell
  • Trafficking
  • Distributing
  • Cultivating

We have defended charges of all types of substances from marijuana to heroin and crack cocaine. We are concerned about your rights and your freedom. As your attorney we will ensure you get the best possible result.

What Are the Penalties for Drug Possession in California?

Depending on your charge and the amount and type of drug you are caught with, you could be facing mandatory prison time. California has sentence enhancements that will add years onto your original sentence for things like: prior convictions, firearm possession at the time of arrest, and selling drugs to children under the age of 21.

Luckily, California also has several alternatives to incarceration for drug offenders. Whether or not you are eligible for some of these programs has a lot to do with your criminal record and the ability of your attorney to show the court that you are worthy of a second chance.

You may be eligible:

Proposition 36: One year of drug treatment. The level of your treatment (inpatient, halfway house, outpatient, etc) to be determined by an expert from the Department of Health.

Drug Court: One year program in which you participate in counseling, random drug testing, 12 step programs, and judicial reviews.

Deferred Entry of Judgment: In this diversion program, you plead guilty and go through 6 months of treatment. After remaining arrest-free for an additional 12 months, the case is dismissed.

Can We Fight the Charges and Win?
Yes, many drug cases can be beaten in court.

One of the most important aspects of a case involving drugs is how the evidence was seized by the police. Because the laws surrounding how searches and seizures are so complex, sometimes the prosecution’s case is destroyed by error in the evidence collection stage.

If some of your rights were violated in the arrest and the seizure of the drugs, we may be able to help you get the charges dropped altogether.

We can also take the case to trial and make the prosecution prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the drugs were yours. Even if they were in your house or in your car, we may be able to reasonably argue that they could have belonged to someone else.

There are other potential defense strategies we can use, but everything depends on a thorough examination of the facts in your specific case. And we will do that for you at no charge, as part of our free consultation.

Call us today to discuss the drug charges you are facing in California. We’ll help you work through what you are up against, and what you can do about it.

It is imperative that you retain legal counsel and legal representation as soon as possible.

Please call us today for free consolation at 818.484.7823.