Drug Crimes

There are several categories of drugs.  The most prosecuted drugs include marijuana and other cannaboids, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, methamphetamine, heroin and other opiods (fentanyl), and any number of prescription drugs that are illegal to possess without a script.  The drugs are classified from Class A to Class F (M.G.L. c. 94C s. 31)

Drug possession involves carrying in your possession one or more illegal narcotics for personal use, sale, or distribution.  Distribution need not involve a monetary transaction or sale.  It just means the transfer of narcotics from one person to another.  The fact that you are giving it away doesn’t make it legal. 

Drug possession with intent to distribute means having illegal narcotics in your possession with the intention of selling them. If you are caught selling to someone under the age of eighteen, there are enhanced criminal charges and sentencing.

Drug manufacturing is producing unlawful controlled substances.

Drug distribution consists of smuggling, transporting, or delivering illegal narcotics.

 

Drug Possession

Drug possession may not seem as serious as it used to be as far as criminality. However, it is very important to remember than a conviction on even possession of a small amount of a drug can have serious ramifications in the future if you are arrested again, particularly for crimes enumerated under the Armed Career Criminal Act. It is therefore extremely important to have a skilled south shore attorney to guide you through this process.

Penalties for Drug Possession

Penalties depend on the type of drug that was found and the amount. In Massachusetts, drugs are categorized in Classes A-F. Class A are treated the most serious, and include heroin amongst other opiods.

Class A Drugs

1st Offense – up to two years in jail in addition to fines and court ordered treatment programs.

2nd Offense (and subsequent) – up to two and a half years in jail and a fine of up to two-thousand dollar.  If indicted and the case proceeds to the superior court, the penalty increases to a maximum of five years and a five-thousand dollar fine.

Lesser Classes of Drugs

Possession of drugs in the classes B to F are typically treated as less dangerous, and prosecuted with more leniency. Class B includes drugs such as cocaine, MDMA, opium, LSD and methamphetamine. Class C includes various controlled prescription drugs and psylocibin (hallucinogenic mushrooms) and also tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-9 THC, found in edible THC). Class D is marijuana among other drugs. Class E and F are usually less dangerous prescription drugs and steroids.  Often times diversion to a program for drug treatment, community service, or short, if any jail sentences or probationary periods are levied against anyone in possession of small amounts of drugs in these classes.

Possession With Intent to Distribute

1st Offense – up to two and a half year sentence in a House of Correction or, if indicted, a state prison sentence depending on the drug.

Repeat offenders will trigger longer sentences and mandatory minimum incarceration periods.

Possession with intent can be implied by several factors. The amount of drugs, the packaging, scales, cash on hand, several plastic bags, corner cut cellophane bags, purity of the drug, whether a confidential informant has reported on distribution activity, and several other factors. However, these factors are not dispositive of distribution in many cases.  That is why you need a skilled south shore attorney to advise you on the strength of your case given the circumstances.  It is also imperative to know whether a search warrant that may have been issued to confiscated any drugs was lawfully authorized and executed, which is a complicated area of the law.

 

Possession With Intent and Distribution

Class A Substances

1st Offense -  the law authorizes a two and a half year sentence in the house of correction for selling Class A substances, typically heroin and fentanyl, however if someone has no criminal record, a judge will typically allow a sentence that does not involve incarceration.  Repeat offenders however face incarceration. A second time offender faces a mandatory three and a half year sentence.

Class B Substances

1st Offense -  up to ten years in state prison or two and a half years in jail with a fine of anywhere from one thousand to ten thousand dollars. If you are selling cocaine or methamphetamine, you cannot receive a “continuance without a finding.”  A guilty finding must be imposed.  

Mandatory minimum sentences for cocaine and methamphetamine distribution do not exist anymore, however the potential penalty for a subsequent offender is up to fifteen years in state prison.

Class C Substances

Class C substances typically include the more habit forming and dangerous prescription drugs that are not opiods.  These include “benzos” such as Xanax among other drugs. Five years is the maximum sentence for distribution of these, and there is no mandatory minimum.  Often times a first offense can be resolved without a conviction.  A second offense carries up to ten years in state prison.

Class D Substances

Distribution of Class D or Marijuana only carries a maximum two year sentence, unless it is a second offense. Second offenses carry a two and a half year sentence.

Marijuana Laws

Marijuana began being decriminalized on the state level in 2008 when penalties for possession of up to one ounce ceased being a criminal charge and instead resulted in civil penalties like fines, Boston.com publishes. In 2012, marijuana was legalized for medical use.  . In 2016, marijuana was legalized for recreational use by adults aged 21 and older in Massachusetts. Adults of legal age can now possess up to one ounce of marijuana in public, five grams of which can be in the form of marijuana concentrate, and up to 10 ounces in their private residences. Residents can also gift up to one ounce of the drug to another resident who is of legal age in Massachusetts; however, it is still illegal to buy and sell marijuana. Residents can grow marijuana in their homes in a secure or locked location that is not visible to the public eye. Residents of Massachusetts can grow up to six plants per person, not to exceed 12 plants in a household.

Class E Substances

Nine months in jail is the maximum sentence for distribution of class E.  These include prescription drugs such as gabapentin, and also most anabolic steroids. A second offense carries a one and a half year maximum sentence.

Trafficking

Drug Trafficking is the same as possession with intent to distribute, however it is punished much more severely due to the sheer amount of drugs in your possession. In many cases, it does not take a great amount of narcotics to support a charge of trafficking drugs.

Class A (heroin, fentanyl, and others)

  • 14-28 grams: 5-20 years in prison and/or a fine of $5,000-$50,000.

  • 28-100 grams: 7-20 years in prison and/or a fine of $5,000-$50,000.

  • 100-200 grams: 10-20 years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000-$100,000.

  • Over 200 grams: 15-20 years in prison.

  • 10 grams or more of fentanyl: up to 20 years in prison. 

The law has changed recently with the influx of fentanyl overdoses.  In fact, police rarely see heroin on its own anymore. Most arrests involve either fentanyl or a mixture of fentanyl.  Often times, one may be carrying what they believe is heroin, however after testing at a drug lab the results nearly always return a mixture of heroin and fentanyl.  If fentanyl is present in the mixture, you can be charged with trafficking fentanyl, no matter how small the amount.  The same can be said of Class B mixtures.

Class B (cocaine, meth, among others)

  • 14-28 grams: 3-15 years in prison and/or a fine of $2,500-$25,000.

  • 28-100 grams: 5- 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $5,000-$50,000.

  • 100-200 grams: 10-20 years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000-$100,000.

  • Over 200 grams: 15-20 years in prison and/or a fine of $50,000-$500,000.

South Shore Drug Crime Punishments

Several factors go into prosecuting someone for drug possession and/or distribution.  A person’s criminal background, the type of drug found, the quantity and scale of distribution, whether the drug was possessed or sold within 300 feet of a school, whether the person is a drug-dependent person.  The punishments range from several years in prison to diversion and drug treatment.  A conviction for a drug offense has ramifications in the future if you are arrested again on a charge that involves a firearm, which can result in enhanced penalties under the Armed Career Criminal Act.  It is important that you have a skilled south shore drug attorney to navigate these issues.