What You Need to Know About Schedule I Drug Crimes

What You Need to Know About Schedule I Drug Crimes

To be charged with a drug crime can completely turn your life upside down. Unfortunately, for many people, a drug crime may be as simple as possessing a small amount of marijuana. Nowadays, with some states legalizing marijuana, it is not uncommon for people to forget that it is still considered illegal on the federal level. Drug crimes can involve a variety of different drugs. While every drug crime can be serious, different offenses may have different penalties. Not all drugs are treated the same way in the eyes of the law.

What Are Drug Crimes?

In general, a drug crime is any type of crime that includes an illegal substance or paraphernalia. Some people do not realize that paraphernalia does not have to include drugs of any kind. If you have equipment to use or conceal drugs, you could face charges. This includes bongs, rolling paper, syringes and different types of pipes.

Drug crimes include:

  • Manufacturing
  • Paraphernalia
  • Dealing
  • Trafficking
  • Possession

The variety of crimes also comes with a variety of different penalties attached. Federal and state laws cover drug crimes. While state laws tend to be more specific, they are not supposed to conflict with federal drug laws. If convicted of a federal drug crime, you could have a worse punishment. For instance, higher fines and longer jail sentences tend to follow a federal conviction.

What Is a Schedule I Drug?

The controlled Substances Act categorizes different substances. The schedules range from one to five, with one being the most severe. According to the law, these drugs are supposed to be the most likely to lead to substance abuse and have no medical use. These drugs include LSD, magic mushrooms, marijuana and heroin.

The problem with the Controlled Substances Act and the scheduling of different drugs is that many of the schedule I drugs became schedule I in the 1970s. A blatant contradiction may be the legal recreational and medical use of marijuana in different states. A person may not think that a drug is unsafe, but according to federal law, it could carry a high penalty.

You should never face drug charges without the help of a lawyer. Drug convictions can come with high penalties. Even if you’re only guilty of possession, you could still serve a prison sentence or have to deal with high fines. For help with your defense, consult with a criminal defense attorney like from the Morales Law Firm, as soon as possible.