If you are caught with enough of a controlled substance to be charged with possession with intent to distribute, under Georgia’s tough drug laws, you are facing the real possibility of significant prison time. Good legal representation can be critical with a serious felony charge such as this. Our goal is to first try to take the most serious charges off the table to avoid the most severe sentences. If the case should only be charged as a simple drug possession, we will argue for a reduction in the charge.
But serious cases like this require quick action to preserve all possible defense options. There is no time to waste, please call us for a free consultation today.
Felony Drug Charges in Georgia
How you are charged and what kind of sentence you are facing largely depends on what kind of drugs you had in your possession. Georgia categorizes controlled substances by “schedule”.
| Drug Classification | Substance |
|---|---|
| Schedule I | Heroin, peyote, LSD, GHB, ecstasy, and hallucinogenic mushrooms |
| Schedule II | Raw opium, morphine, oxycodone, cocaine (including crack cocaine), fentanyl, methadone, and methamphetamines |
| Schedule III | Some steroids such as testosterone and ketamine |
| Schedule IV | Clonazepam, diazepam, and phenobarbital |
| Schedule V | Drugs that have low levels of codeine, opium, and ethylmorphine |
(This drug schedule list is not exhaustive)
Penalties
If you are charged and convicted of manufacturing, delivering, distributing, dispensing, administering, selling, or possessing with intent to distribute any controlled substance you will face the following potential sentences:
| Drug Class | Possible Sentence |
|---|---|
| Schedule I & II | First Offense: No less than 5 years and no more than 30 years in prison.Second and subsequent offenses: No less than 10 and no more than 40 years in prison, or a life sentence. |
| Schedule III, IV, & V | No less than 1 and no more than 10 years in prison. |
| Flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) | First Offense: No less than 5 years and no more than 30 years in prison.Second and subsequent offenses: No less than 10 and no more than 40 years in prison, or a life sentence |
Although Flunitrazepan (also known as Rohypnol, the “date rape drug”) is a Schedule IV substance, it is a drug taken VERY seriously by the State of Georgia. For that reason, it is sentenced similarly to Schedule I and II offenses.
**If you hire or engage someone under the age of 17 to distribute or otherwise assist you with your controlled substances, you may be charged with an additional felony and face another prison sentence of no less than 5 and no more than 20 years, along with a fine of at least $20,000.
Georgia Drug Trafficking Laws
You can be charged with trafficking if you bring enough of a controlled substance into the State of Georgia from another state or country.
How much of a drug is enough for a trafficking charge?
The answer to this question is difficult because the State of Georgia sets different limits for different drugs. They are not always applied the same throughout the schedules.
For instance:
To be charged with trafficking when the controlled substance is cocaine, it depends on the purity of the cocaine you were transporting. For cocaine that has a purity of 10% or more, you would need to have at least 28 grams to constitute a trafficking charge.
If the cocaine was less than 10% pure, the Court would take the percentage of purity and multiply it by the weight you were carrying. If that amount was greater than 28 grams, you could be charged with trafficking.
This is just one example of how difficult it is to wade through the laws surrounding trafficking in a controlled substance.
GA Drug Trafficking Penalties: Potential Sentence
Trafficking sentences often include a mandatory minimum of 25 years depending on the type of drug and quantity you were transporting. A trafficking charge can also carry a fine of one million dollars.
Mandatory minimum sentences refer to situations where the judge has limited discretion in imposing a sentence. It means, he cannot sentence you to less than the mandatory minimum if you are convicted, despite any circumstances that would compel him to.
Trafficking law can be quite confusing, call us for more information and a consultation on your case.