Trafficking in controlled substances is the most serious drug offense under North Carolina law. Our drug trafficking laws prohibit the sale, manufacture, delivery, transport, or possession of excessive amounts of a controlled substance such as cocaine, marijuana or heroin. It doesn’t always take much to bump a mere possession charge up to a more serious trafficking charge.
Amounts of Drugs Required to Be Considered Trafficking
The threshold amount of each controlled substance for it to be captured by the trafficking statutes, are as follows:
- 28 or more grams of cocaine (coke)
- 10 pounds or more of marijuana (pot or weed)
- 3 grams or more of synthetic cannabinoid
- 28 grams or more of methamphetamine (meth or crystal meth)
- 28 or more grams or over 100 dosage units of MDMA (ecstasy or molly)
- 4 or more grams of opiates or heroin (smack)
North Carolina Drug Trafficking Laws
There are two very important things to know about North Carolina’s drug trafficking laws:
- If convicted, all drug trafficking punishments require a lengthy mandatory prison sentence
- The only possible way to avoid prison time if convicted of drug trafficking is by providing “substantial assistance.”
Substantial Assistance Can Lead to a Lesser Sentence
Substantial assistance is perhaps better known as “snitching.” If a judge finds that a defendant has provided substantial assistance to law enforcement, typically by helping them catch other drug dealers, he or she can give the defendant a lesser sentence.
You’ll stay have a felony on your record, but you just might avoid prison time.
If you’ve been charged with drug trafficking, it is of utmost importance that you retain an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible. Not only do you want a lawyer to help protect your rights, you’ll want an attorney to help negotiate with the police and prosecutors and ensure you understand exactly what you will have to do.
Further, the information you can provide is often extremely time-sensitive. It’s even more so if you’ve been arrested and charged alongside other potential drug dealers. Having the best drug crime lawyer on your side can help ease you through a substantial assistance deal with the police and ensure you receive full credit and protection from law enforcement.
Contact Our Drug Trafficking Defense Attorneys to Discuss Options
If you don’t want to provide substantial assistance, it’s still imperative that you find a criminal defense lawyer to represent you as soon as possible in order to give you the best chance possible in your trial.
Trafficking cases generally involve large amounts of evidence and extensive work by the police. The best criminal defense attorneys will scour all the evidence and police behavior to find holes in the prosecution’s case, investigate whether any of your constitutional rights were violated and present your best defense.
In larger cases involving drug crimes such as drug trafficking, it is not uncommon for the feds to get involved. When drug charges go Federal the stakes are even higher. At Kurtz & Blum, PLLC, we can help you with both State and Federal Drug Trafficking Charges.
Whether if you want to take your case to trial, plea bargain, or provide substantial assistance, retain an experienced criminal defense counsel you can find immediately. Contact the criminal defense attorneys at Kurtz & Blum, PLLC immediately for a consultation.
