Howard County Drug Charges
In Maryland, drug charges tend to be broken out into several different groups. Primarily, drug charges in Howard County will be possession. There could be a separate possession charge for every different type of substance. If somebody has Xanax, Adderall, and Oxycodone, three different pills, that would be three different drug offenses, each of which independently carry upwards of four years’ incarceration. When you are charged with a drug offense in Howard County, you have to deal with it quickly and you should expect to go to court and have to address the nature of the charges or fight them, but you need to be prepared either way.
There are many consequences to drug charges in Howard County, such as the charges being on a public record where perspective employers could easily see it. The repercussions, even if ultimately overturned at a trial, do not stop you from getting terminated or otherwise while charges are pending. There can be the far-reaching consequences, so it is important to fight them early on with the help of a skilled drug defense lawyer.
Charge Classification
Generally speaking, for a possession charge, someone will go to the District Court and the District Court Prosecutor and District Court Judge. A person will have a trial and they will be entitled to a jury trial if they request one, but they do not get one from the outset.
Once they are charged, it will immediately show up as a charge of possession of CDS. CDS stands for Controlled Dangerous Substance. It will say CDS possession marijuana or CDS possession not marijuana for everything else, and it will show up as a pending case. Once the case has been resolved, one way or the other, the disposition will show up as a conviction, acquittal, and/or probation for a judgment or otherwise.
Possession Charges
The most common kind of case is a simple possession case. That would be that an individual possessed a quantity of narcotics usually for personal use. Those are broken up into basically three categories all of which warrant contact with a Howard County drug lawyer:
- Possession of marijuana under 10g which is a civil penalty. There is no criminal sanction associated with simple possession of marijuana under 10 g
- Possession of marijuana over 10 g
- Possession of a controlled dangerous substances, not marijuana
Those all have different penalties, although the element of the crime is all the same, which is possession of the narcotic substance
Possession With Intent to Distribute
In addition, there is possession with intent to distribute. That can be determined either by the quantity of drugs, or by the way that the drugs are packaged. Lots of separate small bags each containing a set quantity of drugs can be charged as possession with intent to distribute. There can be other circumstances as well like the police find scales that will be used for weighing in drugs or finding other materials that can be used for packaging or distributing drugs that can be charged with intent to distribute.
Factors Determining Severity of Charges
There are several factors that will aggravate the severity of drug charges in Howard County that are important to recognize.
Criminal Records
There are lots of different factors that can determine the severity of charges. Probably the first and most important is the defendant’s record. If it is not the first offense and the defendant has multiple priors, Maryland does have mandatory minimum sentences for people who have multiple drug convictions. First offenses can be treated radically differently than a third offense. Particularly when it comes to possession with intent to distribute, a first offense has up to 20 years in prison, but no mandatory minimum. Third offenses, on the other hand, carry a minimum 25-year prison sentence, so personal records are probably the most determinant factor in the severity of the charge.
Quantity of Drugs
However, the quantity of drugs possessed or the circumstances of the drugs possesses can also play a huge role. Obviously being caught with possession of 2g of marijuana is going to be treated significantly differently than 2g of heroin.
Other circumstances that can affect that will be where the incident occurred. Did it occur in a school zone? Were there children present or involved? Were there firearms involved? All of these factors can significantly enhance the penalties for a drug case in Howard County.
Dropped Charges
Drug charges can be dismissed easily or dropped. A charge can be dismissed very early on if the prosecutor deems it appropriate. For example, someone could be charged of possession of description. By law, an individual is required to carry any drugs in a prescription bottle, but many just carry them in their key file or other small device but if they are caught with just a few pills and they do not have the prescription bottle with them, then that could be a charge. They could be charged but if the prosecutor or the law enforcement officer is provided proof of prescription then often times they will be willing to allow the charge to go away while in trial.
Law Enforcement Mistakes
Sometimes law enforcement can make a mistake when issuing Howard County drug charges by not knowing the nature of the charge. Sometimes they do not know what the pill is or the drug. Often times they may charge something because they are not sure what it is. They may charge someone with a possession with intent felony when in reality it is just a possession charge. They may charge the wrong substance, they may think things are different, and there are a lot of different ways to go about that.
The mistakes will allow drug attorneys to prevail on the charges. Even if charges are properly filed, a person can still challenge if there are procedural steps along the way. For example, for any drug, no matter how obvious or apparent, it must be chemically analyzed and tested by a certified technician and the report must be provided in advance and given to the council and used out in the hearing or trial to prove guilt. It does not matter what it smelled like, looked like, or even what the defendant said it was. What matters is what the test proves and if they do not have a test, if they have lost the drugs, then the case is often won from the defendant’s side.
If you are facing charges, you need to call someone for a multitude of reasons. You need time to prepare a defense. You need time to request discovery, obtain evidence, and you need time to engage in any treatment options. Additionally, when you hire an attorney, they become the spokesperson. Law enforcement and prosecutors are not permitted to talk to or represent individuals without the attorney’s consent.