California drug crimes can be prosecuted as either felonies or misdemeanors. The prosecutor’s decision is based on the type and amount of drug in question, the severity of the offense, and the offender’s criminal history. All drug charges, felonies, and misdemeanors are severely punished in the state. You will likely receive a lengthy prison term, hefty penalties, and other life-changing consequences upon conviction. You could receive even harsher penalties if convicted of a felony. That is why it is advisable to seek the help of an experienced criminal attorney if you face felony drug charges in California. Let us look at some of the factors that could lead to a felony drug charge.

Factors that Lead to Felony Drug Charges in California

If you are arrested on suspicion of committing a drug-related offense, the prosecutor can charge you with either a felony or misdemeanor. A felony charge will attract a graver punishment after conviction.

In California, controlled drugs are categorized into schedules based on their medical value versus their potential for abuse and addiction. Drugs with no medicinal value but a high potential for abuse and addiction are considered the most dangerous. Mere possession of drugs like those could result in serious felony charges.

Marijuana is a type of controlled drug in the state. Possession of marijuana for consumption is not illegal, but the distribution or sale of marijuana is illegal and could attract serious felony charges. Here are factors that could lead to a felony drug charge:

Type and Amount of drug

As mentioned above, controlled drugs in California are categorized into five schedules, as follows:

  • Schedule I are substances that do not contain any medicinal value and pose a dangerous risk of abuse and addiction for even the most careful user. Anyone charged with a drug crime involving drugs under this category is likely to face grave consequences. Common substances under this category include opiates, hallucinogens, and some depressants.
  • Schedule II drugs are substances that have significant potential for abuse, dependency, and addiction. They also have very few legitimate medical benefits. Most drugs under this category are considered dangerous. They include depressants and stimulants.
  • Schedule III drugs are substances with relatively low medicinal benefits. They also have a moderate likelihood of creating dependency on regular users.
  • Schedule IV drugs are slightly more severe since they have a more significant potential for addiction. But they are still significantly accepted for their medicinal use. They mainly include low doses of narcotics, stimulants, and depressants.
  • Schedule V drugs are considered the least severe drug. They are least likely to be abused and have a low potential for extreme dependency. They are also drugs that have been firmly accepted for their medicinal use.

If you have been arrested for possession of a controlled substance, the prosecutor will consider the type of drug you are accused of possessing to decide whether to file misdemeanor or felony charges against you. Simple possession of a substance like marijuana will be charged as a misdemeanor if the prosecutor believes that the drug was for your consumption. But if the offense involves a more dangerous substance like cocaine or heroin, the charge automatically becomes a felony.

The amount of drug will also be considered when determining the appropriate charge for possession of a controlled substance. A more considerable amount of marijuana could attract felony drug charges if the prosecutor feels that the drug was more than you needed for personal consumption. In that case, the prosecutor will assume that you intended to transfer or sell the drug. A more considerable amount of dangerous drugs like cocaine and heroin will attract even graver penalties.

Possession of Controlled Substances for Sale

California Health & Safety Code 11351 makes it a felony offense for anyone to possess controlled drugs to sell them. The offense cuts across all controlled drugs, including the most dangerous ones like heroin and cocaine, and prescription drugs like hydrocodone and oxycodone. The prosecutor doesn’t have to catch you in the act of selling the drug to open charges under California HS 11351. He/she only needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were in possession of the said drugs, and the indications for sale were present. The indications for the sale of dangerous drugs are:

  • That the drugs in your possession were in large quantities, more than you needed for your own consumption
  • That you had packaged the drugs in separate bindles or baggies
  • That scales were recovered in the exact location as the drugs
  • That there were lots of money, especially in smaller denominations in the exact location as the drugs
  • There was evidence to show that lots of people were coming in and out of the drug’s location and only staying a few minutes

Note that possession, as used in this context, could be either actual or constructive. Actual possession means that you were in direct control of the controlled drugs. Thus, the drugs might have been found in your pockets, hands, or a bag/briefcase you had carried.

Constructive possession means that you had access to the drugs or the right to control them despite not being directly in possession of the drugs.

You’ll still be charged under this law if you had joint possession of dangerous substances with another person.

If convicted for possession of a dangerous substance for sale, you are likely to receive two, three, or four years of incarceration, plus a maximum fine of $20,000

Transportation or Sale of Controlled Substances

Transportation or sale of controlled substances will also lead to felony charges in California. The state makes it a felony offense for any person to sell, import, export, give away or transport any amount of controlled substances. If the drug in question is marijuana or concentrated cannabis, you need a state license to transport or sell it.

Primary caregivers are also exempted under this law, but only for the transport of medical marijuana. The number of drugs in question must also not exceed the patient’s medical needs.

But for dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, it becomes a straight felony if you are found guilty of selling or transporting them.

A person who could be facing felony charges for selling or transporting controlled substances is determined to have:

  • Sold or exchanged the said drugs for money, services, or valuable substances
  • Moved the drug from one location to another with the intent to sell it— the length of distance will not be considered in this case.
  • Provided or given away drugs to others
  • Administered drugs to another person
  • Offered or attempted to do any of the acts mentioned above

In addition to the above requirements, the court will also require sufficient proof that the defendant was aware of the nature of the drug in question. The offense must also include a usable amount of the drug in question.

If you are found guilty of selling or transporting a controlled substance, you might receive the following punishment:

  • Felony probation
  • Three, four, or five years of incarceration— or a maximum of nine years in jail if you moved the drugs across two counties
  • A maximum fine of $20,000

The length of incarceration could go up to twenty-five years if you are found guilty of selling or transporting over 80 kilograms of controlled drugs.

The offense also attracts serious immigration consequences. Thus, you could be deported or rendered inadmissible in the U.S if you are convicted for selling or transporting a controlled drug.

Presence of Aggravating Factors

You are likely to be charged with a felony if your drug-related case involves one or more aggravating factors. An aggravating factor will be any fact or circumstance that will increase the severity of a criminal act. Aggravating factors in drug-related cases reflect the conditions under which the offense was committed. Here are some of the aggravating factors that could lead to a felony drug charge in California:

Prior Felony Or Sex-Related Convictions

A prior conviction in your criminal record will heighten the sentence you are likely to receive for a drug-related conviction in California.

For example, most drug possession cases in California are charged as misdemeanors, attracting a maximum jail time of one year. However, if you have a prior conviction for a serious felony or a sex-related offense, the prosecutor will charge you with a felony. If found guilty of the underlying drug charge, you are likely to be sent to jail for a maximum of three years instead of the one year you could have received for a misdemeanor conviction.

A prior conviction will also heighten the sentence you are likely to receive for a felony conviction. For instance, if you face charges for possession for the sale of a dangerous substance, you are likely to receive a maximum of four years in jail upon conviction. However, if you have at least one previous felony conviction for a California drug-related offense that involves more than possession for personal use, you will receive additional and consecutive three years for each prior conviction.

Drug Crimes within California Drug-Free Zones

Some areas in California are clearly labeled as drug-free zones even though drugs are already illegal in the state. These labels mean that if you commit a drug crime within those designated zones, you will likely receive enhanced penalties of what you are likely to receive if convicted of the underlying offense.

Federal and state laws have designated certain places as drug-free areas in California. When a drug-related offense is committed within 1000 feet of these areas, the offender is subject to penalty enhancement upon conviction.

These drug-free zones include colleges, schools, youth centers, public playgrounds, churches, daycare centers, synagogues, and public swimming pools. California considers all public places where minors are likely to congregate drug-free zones. However, sentence enhancement for offenders will apply only when those areas are open or when children are already present.

California doesn’t have a specific penalty enhancement for offenders who commit drug crimes within the designated drug-free zones. The additional penalty you are likely to receive will depend on the underlying offense.

For instance, being found in possession of marijuana within a college or school is expected to carry less severe additional penalties than selling heroin in the same drug-free zone. At a minimum, the judge is expected to double the fines for the underlying offense and give you additional years in your jail term.

Again, possession of narcotics for recreational use is a misdemeanor in California. However, carrying the same drugs in a school zone could heighten your sentence from one year of incarceration to a maximum of three years.

More severe drug crimes like possession for sale of controlled substances will attract an even heftier penalty if you are found guilty of committing the offense within the drug-free zone. For example, the sale of methamphetamine is a felony offense, a conviction of which attracts a prison sentence of up to four years. If you are found guilty of engaging in the sale within a drug-free zone, you will likely receive an additional one year of prison time.

It helps to work alongside an experienced criminal attorney to ensure that you are fairly sentenced.

Committing a Drug Crime in the Presence of a Minor

California drug laws are not just meant to protect adults against exposure to dangerous drugs but also children. Possession, consumption, sale, or distribution of controlled drugs is likely to attract more severe penalties if it involves a minor below 18.

For example, California Health & Safety Code 11361 is the law that prohibits an adult from giving or selling marijuana to a child. The law states that any person above the age of 18 is not allowed to do the following:

  • To employ, hire or use a child in any way to illegally transport, sell, preparing to sell, or distributing marijuana.
  • To sell, offer or administer marijuana to a child
  • To induce a child to consume marijuana

Generally, California laws make it a severe offense for any adult to involve a child in any business related to the use, sale, or distribution of illegal drugs. The law covers all processes, including tasks like preparing drugs for sale, carrying drugs, or promoting the sale of drugs.

It also makes it unlawful for adults to provide children with marijuana and other controlled drugs for their personal use. Delivering drugs to a minor includes selling, offering, and also giving the drugs to a minor.

The law also makes it a crime for an adult to induce a minor to consume drugs. As used in this context, induction could mean encouraging, suggesting, intimidating, coercing, or using any other means of persuasion on the minor.

Drug crimes involving children are severely punished in California. Penalties are likely to increase if it is established that the minor was below 14 years when the offense was committed.

Even though most California drug crimes involving marijuana are prosecuted as misdemeanors, an offense involving a minor will automatically be charged as a felony. If the violation involves a child of below 14 years, you will likely receive a maximum prison sentence of seven years. But for minors above 14 years, the maximum prison sentence becomes five years. The gravity of these penalties increases if the drug involved is more dangerous, like heroin and cocaine.

Committing a Drug Crime While Armed

California Health $ Safety Code 11370 prohibits any person from having a controlled substance with an operable or loaded firearm. The offense under this law involves any amounts of controlled drugs like cocaine, PCP, heroin, methamphetamine, and an analog of any of these drugs. The amount of drugs, in this case, must be enough to be consumed by someone. The law doesn’t require the amount of drugs to be enough to make you high.

Possessing a controlled substance while armed is a straight felony, punishable by a maximum of four years in prison and a fine of not more than $10,000.

Note that a felony conviction in California comes with additional consequences that will affect your life in other ways. Some of those consequences include:

  • A lifetime ban of possessing or owning a firearm
  • Challenges when seeking employment- the law requires you to disclose to potential employers of any felony conviction in your criminal record.

Find a Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer Near Me

A felony conviction for any drug-related offense is severely punished in California. In addition to the criminal consequences, a conviction comes with life-altering consequences like challenges in finding suitable employment and a possibility of deportation or admission into the United States. That is why you need the best criminal defense services if you face felony drug charges in Los Angeles, CA. At Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we have the skills and experience you need to attain a fair outcome out of your case. We will study the details of your case to advise you on the right legal strategies to use. We’ll also protect your rights throughout the legal process. Call us at 424-333-0943 and let us protect your interests and future.