Drug crimes are a favorite charge for police departments and prosecutors to crack down on. Often, these cases involve nothing more than possession of mostly harmless drugs like marijuana or prescription medication sold or gifted by an acquaintance. Even so, these and other more serious drug charges could result in extensive jail time and high fines.
Our lawyers can represent you in your case, potentially getting charges dismissed or reduced if the prosecution does not have the evidence needed to win their case or if the police made illegal mistakes in procuring evidence or arresting you. In many cases, we might also be able to pursue alternative sentencing or plea deals that would see your charges held in abeyance and eventually dropped for cooperation and participation in anti-recidivism and drug abuse programs.
For help with your drug charges, call Overson Law’s drug possession lawyers today at (801) 758-2287.
Common Drugs for Drug Possession Charges in Heber City, UT
Many common drugs are involved in most drug charges that you see throughout Utah and in Heber City, specifically. While most drug possession cases that our drug possession lawyers can help you with involve mere possession for personal use of non-dangerous drugs, other common street drugs deemed to be more dangerous are also part of cases all the time.
Marijuana is perhaps one of the most common drugs that people are charged with crimes for in Heber City. However, possession of under 100lbs of marijuana for personal use is a class B misdemeanor, which is a lower level of offense. It goes up to a class A misdemeanor if you have over 100lbs, and charges are increased more of you are accused of selling/dealing the drugs or you have multiple prior convictions.
More serious street drugs like cocaine – in crack or powder form – and heroin are Schedule II and Schedule I drugs, respectively. This means that even mere possession, let alone sale, can result in class A misdemeanor charges at a minimum, and even higher second degree felony charges with up to 15 years in prison for dealing these drugs.
Along with these, there are often drug charges issued for prescription drugs like Adderall, Percocet, Vicodin, Xanax, and OxyContin. Additionally “party drugs” like MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly) and psychoactive drugs like psilocybin (magic mushrooms) are common drugs for drug possession and drug dealing charges, too. The penalties for these drugs depend on their specific drug schedule and the circumstances under which the drugs were possessed – i.e., Did you have a prescription? Did you transfer the drugs to someone else? Did you intend do?
Types of Drug Possession Charges in Heber City, UT
As discussed above, charges and penalties are different depending on whether you possessed the drugs for your own use or whether you intended to give them to someone else. There are also other crimes for other conduct involving drugs.
The two main types of possession charges are “simple possession” and “possession with the intent to distribute” (PWID). The distinction here is that simple possession is for possession where the defendant only intended to use the drugs themselves or merely have them, not to give them to others. If there is evidence that the defendant was planning to distribute the drugs, sell them, or even just share them recreationally with other people, then the charges could be upgraded to PWID and involve harsher sentences.
PWID is often shown through additional evidence that pairs up with intent to sell or distribute, as opposed to evidence and arguments that your lawyers can make that the drugs were only there for personal use. For example, if you had the drugs in individualized amounts or had a scale and baggies with the drugs, it is more likely that you were portioning them out to give away or sell. If you had drug paraphernalia and you were on drugs when you were caught in possession, it is more likely that you were just using them.
PWID is distinct from actual delivery of drugs, and the evidence needed to prove the two charges is different. However, the penalties for actual delivery and possession with the intent to deliver are generally the same, allowing police to do “sting” operations or catch drug dealers before any trade is ever made and still get the same penalties.
Another important thing to consider is that “distribution” includes sale or mere delivery. So whether you were transferring quantities of drugs to be sold somewhere else, dealing on a street corner, or even just giving your roommate a few pills, that could be charged as distribution or PWID.
Fighting Drug Possession Charges in Heber City, UT
For the police to charge you with drug possession crimes, they often have to catch you red handed. The only way they can really prove you knew you had drugs is if they were on your person or in your hand – or in your system. This creates grounds to fight these charges.
Police can often prove drug possession by showing that you had the drugs in your system. After all, you had to have possessed them in order to take them. However, police cannot perform blood tests without warrants, and simply pulling you over or stopping you on the street is not often enough evidence to justify a blood test.
Police cannot search you without probable cause. This means that they cannot go into your backpack or pockets or other packages without some articulable evidence that you are in possession of drugs. If they arrest you or search you without this, then the fruits of their search – the drugs and any subsequent arrests or evidence from interviews – should be thrown out of your case.
Lastly, possession claims are strongest when the drugs are on your person or in a bag you are carrying. If they were in your home or car, it can be harder for the government to prove you knew they were there and that you knew they were drugs. These “constructive possession” situations are often fraught with holes that our lawyers can exploit to produce reasonable doubt or perhaps to negotiate down your charges and penalties based on the government’s weak case.
Call Our Drug Possession Defense Attorneys in Heber City, UT
For a free evaluation of the charges against you, call our drug possession lawyers at Overson Law today at (801) 758-2287.
