Drug Offenses
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Drug Crime Penalties
Drug offense penalties can be very serious. You could end up in county jail or state prison. Your car or anything else linked to the drug crime could be taken away (Forfeiture Proceedings). You could lose your driver’s license, have to pay a fine, supervised probation, drug treatment, community service, and any combination of these things. A drug conviction on your record will be seen by future employers, School applications, gun permits, some hospital records, military, professional associations and licenses, child care decisions, renting apartments and houses, obtaining credit, How the officer came to discover that you were in possession of drugs involves constitutional issues of search and seizure. You have certain rights that the state cannot violate, or it may be possible to suppress evidence they have against you. There are a number of different areas that I may wish to explore regarding the incident. Some of the areas I may need to explore with you include: Why did the officer stop you, contact you, come to your house? What did the officer say to you? Did the officer talk to anyone else? Was the house your own house? Was the car your own car? Did the officer find drugs as a result of a search? Did you allow the search? Did the officer say something to induce you to allow him to search? Did you confess? Did you confess to “owning” the drugs found? Who else was with you? How were those people acting? Have you ever been charged with a drug offense before? Do you use drugs regularly, or was this an odd occasion? Would you have trouble passing a drug test? Do you use any drugs for medicinal reasons, or just recreationally? Once we have explored your case in an interview, I will examine paperwork and discuss the case with the officer, and sometimes other witnesses to the case. We then can make an educated decision how to handle the case. In some cases we may want to move to suppress some evidence. In other case we may have a full trial on the facts. In still other cases, there may be other charges that the state could prove, and we may decide to negotiate with the state to proceed on some charges and not on others. There may be programs we can take advantage of in order to keep the charge from resulting in a conviction without having to have a trial. And, in some cases, it may be that reasons exist for the state to dismiss the case.
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Charges can be more serious if they occur near a school zone,involve a minor, give rise to an inferrence that they are being sold, or are part of a continuing criminal enterprise, among other factors.
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In North Carolina, posession of ANY AMOUNT of cocaine is a Felony- also, having any amount of cocain or its metabolites in your system can subject you to charges of impaired driving, whether you seem impaired or not. This includes powder cocaine, crack cocaine, whether by the kilo, or by the fraction of a gram. Conviction of a Felony results in the loss of many rights you otherwise have, including the right to vote, own a firearm, hold many types of employment, and remain free, although some of these rights can be later restored. Additionally, those convicted of a felony face reduced employment opportunities, and reduced availability of credit and housing. In some cases, first offenders may have the ability to defer their charges, have their cases heard through a drug court, or go through certain programs that result in the eventual dismissal of the charge, or modification to a misdemeanor charge. Knowing what things to do to do before court in order to minimize your charge can be critical in preserving your rights, your freedom, and your future
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Simple possession of less than 1/2 oz pot can carry a maximum sentence of 20 days jail, and remains on your record permanently. This will show when you apply for jobs, schools, licenses, and can have an effect on everything from your credit score, to health care, to insurance
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- Prescription Drugs must be in their original container
- Paraphernalia can be anything used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, package, repackage, store, contain, or conceal a controlled substance, or to inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the body
- The state can issue a fine for unpaid taxes on drugs, creating a financial penalty even if the charge is disposed of otherwise than by conviction.
- Possession of some substances can be either misdemeanor or felony, depending on the amount
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