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Criminal Drug Charges

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 27Aug2011 Word count: 2474 Viewed: 97 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

If you have been charged with a serious drug offense, you need to contact a criminal lawyer right away to begin preparing your defense. The detrimental consequences of being convicted of a felony drug offense can have long term implications on the rest of your life. Not only are you subjected to possible jail time, fines, and more, you will also have a criminal record that can keep you from getting a good job, renting a home, and more. If you are incarcerated, you could lose your family, your marriage, your job, and your home.

Serious Criminal Defense Attorney

When choosing a legal representative to help you fight the criminal drug charges you are facing, keep in mind that experience matters. Whether you are facing federal charges, such as for international drug trafficking, or state felony criminal drug charges, the complexities of the laws that govern drug crimes is best left to a criminal lawyer who has handled the same types of offenses in the past. The most common drug charges include:

• Cultivating a controlled substance

• Distribution of illegal drugs

• Drug trafficking

• Operation of a meth lab

• Possession of drugs

• Sale or distribution of a controlled substance

• Trafficking in a controlled substance

• Transporting a controlled substance

You can get a long prison sentence if you are convicted of a drug related crime. This is true even if it is your first offense. Sentencing and penalties can be enhanced for those who commit drug offenses within a particular proximity to a school or playground. For resident aliens, a felony drug charge can lead to deportation. For parents, being charged with a drug crime can cause social services to remove your children from your care.

What to Do if You Are Charged With a Drug Crime

It can be frightening to be investigated for a drug crime, and even scarier to be arrested on drug related charges. But what you do and say during the course of the investigation and when being interrogated by prosecutors and investigators can dramatically affect the outcome of your case. The most important thing to remember when facing a drug charge is to remain calm. Do not consent to the search of your property or vehicle, even if it makes you look like you are hiding something. Do not resist being arrested as this can just make matters worse for you when your bond is set. And above all, do not give a statement to the police or anyone else until you have consulted with your criminal attorney. Your attorney should be present for questioning and during all phases of the criminal process to represent your best interest and to make sure that your rights are not violated.

It is important to remember that not all offenders charged with a drug related crime end up being incarcerated for the offense. Your criminal lawyer can evaluate your situation and the circumstances surrounding your offense and prepare a defense strategy that might help your eligibility for diversion programs that can keep you out of jail, such as Proposition 36 treatment programs, substance abuse programs, and deferred entry of judgment. Oftentimes, the completion of a drug rehab program can remove the notation of a drug charge from your permanent record. In addition, the courts often offer alternatives to jail like electronic home monitoring, work release, work furlough, private or paid jail, and sober living situations.

Contact your criminal lawyer to discuss your case as soon as possible following your arrest. Any delay in discussing your case and seeking legal counsel can have a detrimental effect on the outcome of your case.

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