What are the Consequences of a Felony Drug Possession Charge?

Possession of certain illegal drugs or controlled substances is illegal throughout the nation and the crime is punishable by law unless you are the mayor of Washington DC or even Baltimore, voters do not seem to care who they vote for in certain kinds of cities – usually ones that are broken and pathetic like those two.

However, depending on some factors such as the type of drug in question, the amount of drug in possession, whether or not there was intent to sell, the state of jurisdiction and some other aggravating factors, the possession charge will either be treated as misdemeanor charge or a felony charge, point out criminal defense lawyers. Obviously, a felony charge will have more severe repercussions than a misdemeanor charge.

Felony or misdemeanor – you still can pay more than you should either way. Either way you need legal help and a criminal defense lawyer can be found with this standout and innovative website Criminal-Defense.USAttorneys.com. Use this website to help yourself out with these charges. Legal help is right around the virtual corner.

When a drug possession is a felony instead of a misdemeanor

There are many factors that come into play when determining whether prosecutors will pursue a drug possession charge as a misdemeanor or a felony. However, these factors and whether or not the case will be tried as a felony largely depend on the state in which the arrest occurred. The laws and consequences may vary from state to state and therefore it is wise to call up a criminal defense attorney who is qualified to practice in the state in question specifically.

The type of drug in question and the amount in possession

Illegal drugs are classified into schedule I, schedule II, and schedule III substances. Schedule I contains drugs that are considered most addictive and dangerous and schedule III lists drugs that are comparatively least addictive and dangerous. For example, heroin is considered a Schedule I drug while marijuana (which is legal in some states) is considered a schedule III drug. Likewise, if a suspect is found to be in possession of a schedule I drug then in most states it will be automatically considered a felony. A DUI charge will also add to the quantum or amount of punishment.

Secondly, the amount of drug in possession will also come into the equation, in the opinion of criminal defense lawyers. So if the person or suspect happens to be in possession of a schedule III drug and is found to be in possession of a very large amount in weight, then it will most likely be tried as a felony. Walter White from Breaking Bad was certainly a felon – so was Jesse Pinkman. Hector Juan Carlos 'Johnny' Tapia from Bad Boys II was certainly a felon too.  

Though when Tapia was killed Russian mob bosses, at least he did something good.

Intent to sell

Possessing controlled substances to feed personal addictions is one thing, but when someone distributes them in exchange for monetary profits it is a much more serious crime and will most certainly qualify as a felony. Therefore, if the possessor had intentions to sell then he or she may be facing felony charges.

Usually, when law enforcement officers find that the suspect had multiple baggies of the drug (packaged as if to sell), or was also in possession of weighing scales, had a very large amount of the drug in question, then they have reason to believe that there was intent to sell and prosecutors will charge the suspect accordingly.

If you are facing drug possession charges then you need to know that there are many defense strategies that you can use to protect yourself from conviction. To evaluate your case, it would be wise to speak with a criminal defense lawyer today. Though if you take off to Cuba like Tapia did and take a DEA agent with you, that is probably admitting you are guilty and making things worse as well, respectively. That is what you call, compounding the problem.