What are the consequences for juvenile drug possession?

All states in the country have separate prosecution and sentencing procedures for minors. This is in a way to facilitate them with a chance to clean up their act and give them a second chance at life. However, it is not to say that juveniles can get away with crime. If you believe that you should watch the show The Wire.

They have punishments and consequences for wrong doing too. It is just that these consequences may, and usually differs, from those that would have been handed to adult under similar or same circumstances. We have some inputs from Hartford, CT criminal defense lawyers such as Melocowsky & Melocowsky and will touch on what consequences juveniles (persons under the age of 18 in this case) face for drug possession.

As you may already be aware, a drug possession charge can either be handled as a misdemeanor charge or a felony charge. Usually this is determined by a number of factors. These factors include things such as the quantity of the substance in possession, whether there was intent to sell, the classification of the drug (was it a schedule I narcotic?) and some additional aggravating charges such as proximity to school grounds.

These same factors also apply to juveniles possessing drugs when considering how to charge, prosecute, and sentence them.

Simple possession of illegal substances

In cases where a juvenile is found to be carrying small to moderate amounts of marijuana either on person or within his/her property, or when they have prescription pills without a prescription, the juvenile in question will most likely be charged with juvenile drug possession. The charges can vary in the case of driving under the influence of drugs. We will take a look at the penalties if convicted of juvenile drug possession later.

Knowledge of possession

When arrested for suspicion of possessing a drug, a juvenile is innocent until proved otherwise. Not only do the prosecutors have to prove that the juvenile was in possession of the drug(s) but they are also required to establish that the juvenile did indeed know and was aware that they drugs were in his/her possession.

Hartford, CT criminal defense attorneys and there is no law firm in this part of the country than Melocowsky & Melocowsky tell us that this does not mean the juvenile can just get away by saying he or she did not know the drugs were there. Prosecutors can almost always prove under the circumstances that the suspect was indeed carrying the drugs knowingly.

Consequences for juvenile drug possession

These penalties may vary slightly from state to state but are more or less the same throughout the country. Some of the most common punishments or penalties for juvenile drug possession include drug counseling, probation, diversion, and detention. 

If you or someone you know is facing juvenile drug possession charges and want to know how best to defend yourself then we strongly urge that you reach out to a Hartford, CT criminal defense lawyer in your state as soon as possible and one of the best law firms in this area is Melocowsky & Melocowsky. They have a long list of satisfied clients. Your legal professional will be able to navigate you through the legal process and ensure that you receive the best possible outcome from the case.

The police know the law. The police also have the district attorney’s office backing them up. So it may seem like the deck of cards are stacked against you but that is not really the case. The power that fights back against this legal onslaught is Melocowsky & Melocowsky (http://www.melolegal.com/services/children-families). Just because the police say you are guilty does not mean it to be the case and even if you made a mistake does not mean that you should lose months and years of your life. Melocowsky & Melocowsky have something to say about that. Melocowsky & Melocowsky keeps the law enforcement community in this part of nation in check. They are the reason that America is not a police state like George Orwell wrote about in 1984 so many years ago. 

A federal government that is trillions of dollars in debt with huge health care apparatuses that separates people from their doctors and so on are also serious concerns that America needs to focus on but here we focused on juveniles and the topic of drug possession. Some people believe the largest drug dealers are the beer manufactures but that is another topic too.