Drug Trafficking Penalties
Houston Drug Trafficking Attorneys :: The Law Office of Matthew D. Sharp
Drug trafficking is the act of manufacturing, distributing or possessing illegal substances. It involves more than just selling drugs, as transporting and smuggling them are also included. When the act takes place solely within Texas borders, it is considered a state crime. If it involves crossing state lines or the border between the U.S. and Mexico, it then becomes a federally-prosecuted drug crime.
Categories of Drugs
The Texas Controlled Substances Act breaks drugs down into different penalty groups, and examples include:
- Penalty Group 1: Opiates, cocaine and methamphetamine
- Penalty Group 1A: LSD
- Penalty Group 2: Hallucinogens other than LSD
- Penalty Group 3: Pentobarbital and barbituric acid
- Penalty Group 4: Narcotics
Marijuana is in a penalty group all of its own.
Penalties for Drug Trafficking
The penalties for trafficking a controlled substance depend on a number of factors, which can include the class of drug being distributed, the amount possessed, the number of prior offenses, whether or not the offense took place in a “safe” zone and whether it was a state or federal offense. Some examples of drug trafficking penalties are:
- Less than one gram of a Penalty Group 1 substance: Six months to two years in jail and a fine of up to $4,000
- Four to 400 grams of Penalty Group 2: Five to 99 years in prison and a fine as high as $10,000
- 28 to 200 grams of Penalty Group 4: Two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000
Mitigating Drug Trafficking Consequences
One of the first things a drug crimes defense attorney will do is to check and see how evidence was obtained. If police violated an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights in conducting a search and seizure, the evidence may be tainted. In that instance, a motion to suppress the evidence can sometimes be successful, and it could result in charges being dropped or reduced.
Drug trafficking arrests sometimes come after a confidential informant provides information to police. Drug trafficking attorneys will look at the statements made by an informant in order to determine whether those statements are truthful in nature. Lawyers will also look for underlying motives that might call the validity of an informant’s testimony into question.
A Drug Trafficking Lawyer in Houston, TX Can Protect You
At The Law Office of Matthew D. Sharp, criminal defense is the only area of practice. As such, attorneys Matthew Sharp is well-versed in defending clients who are accused of drug trafficking. They will carefully examine all the evidence against you in order to make sure your right to a fair trial is not compromised. For a free review of your court case, call The Law Office of Matthew D. Sharp today.
