Drug Offenses
Drug charges are serious, whether you’ve been charged with possession, the intent to distribute or another of the myriad possibilities in this area of law. The attorneys at Wendy Satin Law, located in Rockville, MD, have years of experience dealing with all the various drug offenses and possible charges, and deliver the highest quality representation for each client. Contact us today to get the legal guidance and expert criminal law representation you deserve.
There many illegal drugs, Wendy Satin has represented clients who have been charged criminally for offenses resulting from possession of marijuana, cocaine, crack, heroine, meth, and ecstacy.
Drug charges vary depending upon the type of drug, the quantity of the drug seized, and the surrounding circumstances such as the seizure of large quantities of cash, the drugs being packaged, the seizure packaging supplies (baggies) and the seizure of scale(s).
Drug charges can range from the least severe, possession of a small amount of the illegal drugs, to increasingly more severe, manufacturing and distributing illegal drugs.
Even if it was not the individuals intent to sell the illegal drugs in his possession, the presence of any of the items listed above, may lead the arresting officer to believe the individual did have an intent to distribute the drugs. People are often charged with possession with intent to distribute in these circumstances. Even if the individual has not had any prior drug arrests, he may still be facing significant jail time, hefty fines, and long periods of supervised probation. If convicted of a felony, the potential sentence could be up to 20 years in prison.
Depending on the drugs at issue, simple possession of the illegal drugs will carry the potential of less time in jail/prison, less of a fine and less time on probation, however any resulting sentence on conviction will vary widely depending on many factors. The number, severity and length of time following any prior convictions, whether the individual was caught on school property, the degree of cooperation with the arresting officers, for example.
Marijuana has become legal in several states. While marijuana is still illegal in Maryland, the potential punishments have been greatly reduced. Maryland recently passed two more lenient laws regarding possession of marijuana. First, the penalty for possession of less than 10 grams has been reduced to potentially 90 days in jail, from potentially 1 year in jail.
Second, police officers are now required to issue citations for this offense rather than arresting and incarcerating the individual prior to their first appearance in Court.
Maryland defines possession, distribution and manufacture of controlled dangerous substances to be both misdemeanors and felonies. The classification of the crime depends upon the amount of the illegal drugs in the individuals possession.