If you’re caught trafficking marijuana across state lines here in Oklahoma, you face an array of complications, as federal law will intersect with state law. It’s very important to talk to an Oklahoma City criminal defense lawyer who has a specific experience both with our state laws and with defending clients in federal courts.
From an Oklahoma City Criminal Defense Lawyer: Trafficking Marijuana Across State Lines
State Amounts and Fines
State and federal laws differ, and that is going to affect whether you can be charged with trafficking or not and who will be doing the charging. Here in Oklahoma, if you are in possession of 25 pounds of marijuana or more, you are automatically slapped with the trafficking charge, and if you have 1,000 pounds or more, it’s an aggravated trafficking charge.
For 25 pounds, the fine is a minimum of $25,000 and up to $100,000. If you have 1,000 pounds of anything with detectable marijuana in it, the minimum fine is $100,000 up to $500,000.
Other State Punishments
In addition to the fines, the law in Oklahoma also punishes trafficking with a term of imprisonment that is not less than twice the amount for regular possession, and if you’ve been previously convicted of a drug crime or of a felony that violates the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, that escalates to three times the prison term. If you’ve been convicted of two or more violations, the prison term is life without parole.
If you’re charged with aggravated trafficking, then the mandatory minimum prison sentence is 15 years, and you are required to serve at least 85% of that before becoming eligible for parole. Finally, the prison terms that are laid out in the law have some serious restrictions when it comes to probation, deferral, suspension, or earned credits within the state correctional system. You’ll also not be eligible for any appeal bonds.
Finally, the law in our state also gives law enforcement permission to seize anything that it believes could be proceeds from the sale of drugs. This would include all property that is being used to store the drugs, any drug-making equipment, any money that can be traced to the sale of drugs or which is found near the drugs or near any equipment for making drugs, and even real estate and vehicles that are used to facilitate any violation of Oklahoma’s drug laws.
Federal Amounts
Federal law is explained in 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 960, and, under federal law, you are chargeable if you knowingly or intentionally manufacture or distribute either 100 kg or more of marijuana or 100 marijuana plants (or more), with higher charges applying if you have over 999 kilos or more than 999 plants.
You can also be charged with “conspiracy to traffic” if there are two people or more working together to do this, even if only one is actually caught “with” the drugs. In some cases, the federal government will differentiate between a “minor participant,” such as a driver or street dealer, and a “major participant” controlling the operation. The federal government is often willing to make deals with minor participants in exchange for testimony against the major participants.
Federal Punishments
Federal law classifies trafficking in 100 to 999 kg (or 100 to 999 plants) as a class B felony. That means the minimum jail sentence is five years and the maximum 40, and after you are released, you are subject to four years of supervision. Fines can run as high as $5 million. If you’re caught trafficking in 1,000 kg or more (or 1,000 plants or more), it becomes a class A felony. Now the minimum jail time is 10 years up to life in prison. If you are released, you face five years of supervision. Fines go up to $10 million at this point.
In both these cases, the United States Attorney General can agree to waive the mandatory minimum sentencing, but in practice, this is not common unless you are able to give something useful in return, such as information on a larger network of drug dealers.
Who Will Charge Me?
In general, if all the trafficking took place within Oklahoma, Oklahoma State laws will apply. However, if you are caught crossing state lines, you’ll generally be prosecuted by the federal government. You’ll want to talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away in either case, since the penalties are serious in both situations.
Defending Against a Trafficking Charge
Trafficking is a very serious crime, so you don’t want to play around here. You need an experienced attorney to start investigating the incident immediately and developing a strategy to defend you. There are a few routes that your attorney may explore, depending on your situation.
Suppressed Evidence
The prosecution will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were trafficking in marijuana, and the only way to do that is with evidence. Sometimes, it’s possible to get important evidence suppressed. If you were searched illegally – for example, you were not breaking the law at the time the police pulled you over in your car, and they had no reasonable suspicion for pulling you over to begin with – it may be possible to suppress any evidence that was discovered during that search. If your lawyer is able to suppress enough of the evidence, it’s even possible in some cases to get the charges dismissed, though what’s often more likely is that you will be able to cut a plea deal for lesser charges or for lowered fines and penalties.
Get the Charges Dismissed
As stated above, if key evidence – notably, the drugs themselves – are not available for the prosecution to use in evidence against you, they are very likely to drop the charges. In some situations, your lawyer may be able to argue that just because you were in the proximity of drugs is not enough because the prosecution lacks clear evidence that the drugs actually belonged to you. If there’s not enough evidence, charges can sometimes be dismissed or lowered.
Argue Entrapment
Entrapment is pretty rare, but it does happen. Entrapment happens when a law-enforcement officer (or someone working on the behalf of law-enforcement, such as an informant), acting undercover, induces you to commit a crime that you would be unlikely to have committed otherwise. This is illegal, and if it can be shown that you were the subject of an entrapment, the court will likely dismiss the charges against you.
Get a Plea Deal
Plea deals are common in these cases, and especially if this is your first defense or if there’s not a lot of evidence, your lawyer may be able to talk with the prosecution about lowering a trafficking charge to simple possession with intent to distribute. Other options include bargaining for the prosecution to ask for the lowest penalties for trafficking.
A trafficking charge is serious, but a lawyer can help. Contact us today at Cannon & Associates in Oklahoma City and get aggressive defense by committed and experienced criminal defense attorneys.