Keeping You Out of Prison With a Drug Crimes Lawyer

Due to the influx of both legal and illegal drugs across the borders and through the use of the black market in recent years, drug laws have been brought to the forefront of the news. Every U.S. state has laws that forbid a person to possess, make, or sell various drugs or paraphernalia. These include marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, and the items that are needed to use them or make them.

How they are being used is what determines whether a drug is legal or illegal. If those that are used to treat legitimate problems such as attention deficit disorder, anxiety, or cancer symptoms are being used improperly, being sold on the street, or are not prescribed to you, they are being used illegally.

There are many levels of the law that a Drug crime lawyer will need to know to help you defend yourself against the accusations of illegal use or sale of drugs and can help you avoid prison. The differences between federal laws and state laws is that the state’s are usually possession charges, while federal arrests occur due to sales or manufacture of them. Federal charges usually carry harsher punishments as well.

If you are arrested for some type of drug crime, you may need a drug crimes lawyer, and there are several terms that you should know. The first one is controlled substance. This means that the sales of those items are under the control of the government and in most cases are illegal. Cocaine, anabolic steroids, and cough medicine with codeine are illegal in all states, and marijuana in most states, all fall into this category. The next term is sales and if you are accused of this, you have been caught selling or delivering these substances. It usually involves the amount of drug you were caught with, not the selling of it. Another term is manufacturing, which happens when you are implicated or caught in any part of the drug making process. These handmade drugs include cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine. Next, you should know the term, possession. Most arrests for this occur when you are caught with more than the legal amount on your property without a prescription. This could be not only having them on your person, but also if you own the location where the drugs or paraphernalia were manufactured or being stored. Finally, there are search and seizure laws that can be used against the police if it is believed that your property or person was searched illegally when the drugs were found.

If you believe that you have been wrongfully accused or arrested for drug possession, or need the assistance of the law, you can check your city or state databases for a reputable drug crimes lawyer. The right lawyer could protect your reputation and keep you from doing prison time.