Drug Charges Crimes & Criminal Lawyers in Los Angeles

Each state and the federal government have laws to interdict and eradicate the use, cultivation, processing and transportation of illicit drugs. The purpose of these laws is to reduce the unlawful consumption of drugs, reduce drug-related crimes, and severely punish repeat offenders and major drug dealers. For more information on drug crimes, such as criminal possession and drug trafficking, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney who is seasoned in this area of law.

Criminal Possession Drug Charges in Los Angeles:

Drugs and Narcotics laws have tried to keep up with the changing perceptions and real dangers of substance abuse. By 1970, over 55 federal drug laws and countless state laws specified a variety of punitive measures, including life imprisonment and even the death penalty. To clarify the situation, the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 repealed, replaced, or updated all previous federal laws concerned with narcotics and all other dangerous drugs.

Most states have laws that give different treatment to criminal possession of different categories of drugs (i.e. marijuana, crystal methamphetamine), and also make a distinction in the offense charged as to whether a small amount of the drug was found with the defendant (personal use) or a larger amount (intent to sell or distribute, i.e. trafficking).

Drug Trafficking Charges in California:

Trafficking is the distribution, sale, exchange, or giving away of significant amounts of prohibited substances, such as illicit drugs, and is considered a more serious crime than simple possession. There are differences between international drug trafficking, which involves smuggling across borders, and distribution within the native country--the latter usually being on a much smaller scale.

Techniques used by smugglers when trafficking drugs across borders include:

• Avoiding border checks, such as by small ships, small aircraft, and through overland smuggling routes.
• Submitting to border checks with the drugs hidden in a vehicle, between other merchandise, in luggage, in or under clothes, inside the body, etc.
• Buying off diplomats to smuggle drugs in diplomatic mail/luggage, to avoid border checks.

If you have been charged with drug trafficking or any drug charge in Los Angeles or Orange County, it is important to seek the consultation of a qualified criminal defense lawyer who can advise you of your legal rights and fight to protect your freedom.