In North Carolina, drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum sentences. That means that no matter what your criminal record is, the punishment for every defendant is the same: a mandatory active sentence in prison. The length of that prison term depends on the type of substance and how much you are charged with possessing. See the chart on the right for some of the more common drug trafficking charges. For example, take a look at the cocaine section. If you are caught with 28 grams of cocaine or more, but less than 199 grams, you are facing a class G drug trafficking felony. For class G felonies, the mandatory prison term is 35 to 51 months in prison. If the substance is marijuana, you would need to be found in possession of 50 to 1,999 pounds for a class G trafficking charge.
One of the most harsh aspects of a drug trafficking charge is that you can be charged and sentenced with multiple drug trafficking charges for the same substance. A person caught with driving to a location to sell one ounce of cocaine to another could be charged with trafficking cocaine by possession, trafficking cocaine by transportation, trafficking cocaine by sale, and conspiracy to traffic cocaine by sale. All four of those charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 35-51 months and a judge could sentence all four of them consecutively. That means you could serve almost 12 years for this one incident.
Another shocking feature about drug trafficking laws in North Carolina is that the weight for opium, heroin, cocaine, and a few other substances is determined by any mixtures containing these substances. Take, for example, a hydrocodone pill. These prescription pills contain some opiates, but much of their weight is also simple acetaminophen and even several inactive ingredients. The total weight of the pill is all that matters, so if 6 pills weigh more than four grams, you can be charged with trafficking opium. Similarly, if a tiny pinch of cocaine was dropped into a 10 kilogram bag of sugar, a person could be charged with trafficking 10 kilos of cocaine. See part of the drug trafficking statute, reproduced below:
North Carolina General Statute 90-95(h)(4) - Any person who sells, manufactures, delivers, transports, or possesses four grams or more of opium, opiate, or opioid, or any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium, opiate, or opioid (except apomorphine, nalbuphine, analoxone and naltrexone and their respective salts), including heroin, or any mixture containing such substance, shall be guilty of a felony which felony shall be known as "trafficking in opium, opiate, opioid, or heroin" and if the quantity of such controlled substance or mixture involved:
a. Is four grams or more, but less than 14 grams, such person shall be punished as a Class F felon and shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 70 months and a maximum term of 93 months in the State's prison and shall be fined not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000);
b. Is 14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams, such person shall be punished as a Class E felon and shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 90 months and a maximum term of 120 months in the State's prison and shall be fined not less than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000);
c. Is 28 grams or more, such person shall be punished as a Class C felon and shall be sentenced to a minimum term of 225 months and a maximum term of 282 months in the State's prison and shall be fined not less than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).
As you can imagine, these incredibly harsh and unjust laws have lead to many young people serving decades in prison for either first offenses or for behavior that they never imagined could be considered drug trafficking. With so much at stake, it is so important to hire an experienced Greensboro drug trafficking attorney who knows how to file motions to suppress and take cases to trial. There are many important places to fight a drug trafficking case from challenging a traffic stop or a search warrant because a police officer violated someone’s constitutional rights. With a qualified drug trafficking lawyer in Greensboro, NC, you can be sure that your attorney is fighting for you. If you are concerned that you or a loved one is facing serious drug trafficking charges, call or text our office now for a free consultation.
