Category Archives: Drug Crimes
Drug Crimes in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: What is Drug Possession?
Pennsylvania drug possession penalties Under the Pennsylvania drug possession statute, the penalties for marijuana possession include a misdemeanor charge, a $500 fine and 30 days in jail for 30g or less. For 30g or more, the charge is still a misdemeanor, but you could face a year in prison and a $5,000 fine. The penalties… Read More »
Federal Mandatory Minimum Penalties Under Reform
When he was 26 years old, Douglas Ray Dunkins, Jr. received a mandatory sentence of life without parole for his role in a Texas crack cocaine operation. If that operation had involved cocaine powder, the mandatory minimum sentence would have been 20 years and he would now be free. While the decades-long U.S. “War on… Read More »
Legalized Recreational Marijuana Breaks Federal Law
On January 1, 2014, Colorado became the first state to open recreational pot stores after 55 percent of the state voted to legalize recreational marijuana use. Now, 20 states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form. Yet every time someone uses the drug legally in one of these states, the… Read More »
Federal and State Drug Laws — What’s the Difference?
It is estimated that drug and alcohol abuse costs society more than $100 billion annually, including for accidental death and injury, healthcare, treatment, and law enforcement. There are laws in every state and at the federal level to combat the drug epidemic, prohibiting the possession, manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, including marijuana, ecstasy,… Read More »
Drug Crimes in Pennsylvania: What to Expect When Prosecuted
You face serious consequences when police prosecute you for the unlawful possession, distribution, cultivation or manufacture of a controlled substance in Pennsylvania. Depending on the quality and quantity of drugs found in your possession, the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, Drug Strike Force or Drug Task Force may be called to investigate you… Read More »
Drug Crimes in Pennsylvania: What is Drug Trafficking?
The only thing that separates a simple possession charge from a drug trafficking charge is the amount of drugs seized from your home, vehicle or person. If you possess more of a drug than you could reasonably use yourself, it is assumed that you probably will sell the drug to dealers who will distribute… Read More »
Drug Crimes in Pennsylvania: Manufacturing Controlled Substances
Many criminal arrests for manufacturing a controlled substance begin with warrants to search homes, vehicles, warehouses or suspected manufacturing facilities. Only after police obtain the evidence needed to prosecute can you be charged with a crime. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, you may be aware that you are under surveillance or under… Read More »
In The News
Preliminary Hearing Scheduled for Iveliza Perez
Pennsylvania’s Passage of Senate Bill 100 Expands Definition of Crime of Violence, Reducing Possibility of Prerelease or Diversion
Governor Tom Corbett’s passage of a prison reform bill in Pennsylvania on June 5, 2012 was aimed at dealing with the problem of prison overcrowding and the ineffectiveness of incarceration for drug- or alcohol-addicted nonviolent offenders. However, portions of the reform bill are now being widely criticized for being converse to the law’s stated purpose…. Read More »