Nearly anything can be used against you in a marijuana trafficking case, so if you’ve been pulled up on a charge for trafficking, you need to talk with a drug crime lawyer immediately. Choose someone who has experience here in the Oklahoma City area to have the best chance at a good outcome. The key is moving quickly: the state will move quickly against you, and it’s in your best interests to have a lawyer protecting your rights and defending you right from the start.
Can Text Messages Be Used Against You in a Marijuana Trafficking Case?
Yes, text messages can certainly be used against you in a marijuana trafficking case. But the reality is that the prosecution doesn’t need them to bring a case against you for trafficking. Trafficking charges are brought because of how much marijuana is found. If you have over the threshold amount, it really doesn’t matter whether there are any text messages or not. Just having that amount triggers the charge.
It also doesn’t matter if the marijuana was found with baggies and scales or any other distribution paraphernalia or adjacent to large amounts of cash. If it was, that makes things even worse, but it’s very difficult to fight this charge if you had more than a threshold amount of marijuana, regardless of what other evidence there might be (or not be).
What Are the Threshold Amounts for Trafficking?
If you have 25 pounds or more of any mixture that contains detectable marijuana in it, this will trigger the trafficking charge. If you have 1,000 pounds or more, it triggers an aggravated trafficking charge.
If you have 72 ounces or more of edibles, this brings a trafficking charge. Anything over a single ounce of concentrate will trigger a trafficking charge. As with marijuana plants, larger amounts can potentially trigger an aggravated trafficking charge.
How Might Text Messages Come Into It?
Again, the state does not need to find text messages or other evidence if you have enough marijuana. Just the possession of that amount is enough to trigger a trafficking charge. However, you can be charged with trafficking even if you have smaller amounts if other evidence is found, including text messages.
It’s important to understand that the police can seize your phone as evidence when they arrest you, but they cannot actually search it without a warrant. This means they are very likely to ask you to put your passcode in so they can take a look at it, and you should never agree to do this. When you refuse, the police will almost certainly say that if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn’t worry about them looking at your phone. This is an attempt to trick you into thinking that if you let them look at your phone, everything will be all right; as if they’ll just let you go if you agree to this. Don’t believe them. If they have arrested you, it’s because they’ve already decided you’re guilty. Even if they don’t find anything on your phone, they’re not going to let you go. Tell them no and talk to a lawyer as soon as possible.
Once the police have your phone in their possession, any text messages that show up on the screen will be visible to them. If they see a text message come in that seems to relate to drug trafficking, this might make it easier for them to get a warrant to go through your phone. The law is still developing on this issue, and the Oklahoma courts have sent some mixed signals at times about how much privacy people should be allowed to expect with their phones. The wisest thing for every citizen to do is to set their phone so that text messages do not display on the lock screen, to politely refuse to give the police access without a warrant, and to call a lawyer immediately if the police are asking to look at the phone.
What Are the Penalties for Marijuana Trafficking?
Prison Time & Fines
On your first trafficking charge, you can expect to pay a fine of not less than $25,000 and no more than $100,000. That’s for a regular trafficking charge; if you’re charged with aggravated trafficking, then those numbers change to a minimum of $100,000 and a maximum of $500,000.
For a first-time offense, the prison sentence is imposed by the court and can be up to 20 years. For a second offense, you now have a minimum prison sentence of four years, and the maximum becomes life. If you’re given more than the minimum four years, then you must serve at least 50% of that sentence before you can be eligible for parole. For a third violation, the minimum sentence becomes 20 years and the maximum life, and if you’re convicted of aggravated trafficking, you have to serve at least 85% of your sentence before you can be eligible for parole.
There are other things in play here, too. If you are caught with marijuana around a minor or there are other aggravating circumstances, the penalties escalate quickly. There also may be other city fines, and you’ll be required to pay $100 to the Trauma Care Assistance Revolving Fund.
Other Penalties
Other penalties that you may end up suffering with any kind of drug charge include having your driver’s license taken from you and losing your personal property. Any personal property that the police think can be connected in any way to a drug crime they are permitted to seize. Getting that property back is difficult, even if you are found innocent of the drug charge. It requires a separate civil procedure that unfortunately has no meaningful connection to the criminal charges brought against you. You’ll need the help of an experienced lawyer to get your property back.
Loss of your driver’s license is it also a civil matter and also something that has to be fought in a separate court. You’ll be given the chance to request a hearing to contest the suspension of your license, and it’s important to request this hearing in a timely manner. It’s important to get a lawyer on your side right away to minimize the effect of these other penalties.
How an Oklahoma City Drug Crime Lawyer Can Help
Once you’ve been arrested, it’s easy to feel hopeless. Don’t assume that you’re going to be convicted, however. Contact a lawyer as quickly as possible. Your lawyer can protect you from saying anything that will damage your case and will investigate the manner of your arrest to see if it’s possible to exclude any of the evidence. If the police have violated your rights at any point, your lawyer will use this against them to defend you, and it may be possible to lower the charges against you, plea bargain for lesser penalties, or even get the charges dropped all together in some cases.
A lawyer who knows Oklahoma’s laws and the city courts can do a lot to defend you. If you or someone you love has been charged with a drug crime, contact Cannon & Associates now in Oklahoma City. We’re your Fierce Advocates®, ready to stand at your side and help you in court and for your future.