When to Hire a Drug Crime Lawyer

Drug crime lawyers are normally hired when a person is arrested on some kind of drug related charge. There are several types of illegal substance charges that include possession, conspiracy, manufacturing, and distribution. Each type of charge will either be classified as a misdemeanor, felony or in more severe cases of a federal felony.

Possession charges are illegal and are mandated under state and federal laws. Possession is the most common type of drug charge which people are arrested for. Possession is defined as actually having a controlled substance on your person or in your possession. There is physical possession where it has to be somewhere on your person such as your pockets or your hands. Constructive possession indicates that the substance must be somewhere that you had access to such as in your car. So if you don't have the substance on your person, but it was found in your vehicle, this is where a good drug crime lawyer can come in handy to fight your case. All prosecutors need to do is to link you to the substance found in the vehicle. An experienced drug crime lawyer can argue successfully that just because it was your car that could have been someone else's chemical substance.

Sales of certain controlled substances are not legal under federal and state laws. The sale of an illegal substance means that you must have transferred the product to another person who then offers to you money for it. However, there are times when a middleman is involved so the drugs and money are exchanged through the middleman. Under this classification, the most common charge is possession of an illegal substance with the intent to sell. Under the intent to sell charge, the state does not have to prove that you were in possession of the drug at any time, all they have to prove is that you intended to sell the substance.

Manufacturing of a chemical substance is punishable by state and federal laws. This charge means that you either produced or created an illegal substance. The two most common charges under the manufacturing charge are marijuana growing and meth labs. In recent years, because of the growing trends in manufacturing chemical substances, many pharmacies now have to resort to storing certain over the counter behind the pharmacy counter.

The most common drug charge in a federal court is the charge of conspiracy. This is when an individual plans to possess an illegal substance with the intent to distribute the substance. This charge carries the most jail time and normally involves more than one person and huge quantities of illegal substances.

If you are caught possessing a methamphetamine, the penalties have become more severe over the years because of the increasing problems with methamphetamine labs. The penalty depends on the state, but is normally 15 to 20 years as a mandatory minimum sentence. The amount of jail time will also depend on the quantity that was found as well as if there were any children present in the home where the math labs are found. Many states now monitor and regulate the sale of cold medication and household ingredients.