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Federal drug sentencing report shows interesting trends

On Behalf of | Nov 2, 2015 | Drug Charges

Federal drug charges are serious criminal charges that carry the possibility of lengthy jail sentences upon a conviction. The reality is that drug convictions on the federal level carry with them an average of more than 11 years in prison. For convictions on marijuana charges alone, the average prison sentence is over 7 years.

Crack cocaine and powder cocaine top the list of the drugs that are associated with the federal drug trafficking cases studied. Crack cocaine accounted for 28.4 percent and powder cocaine accounted for 25.8 percent. Methamphetamine was next on the list accounting for 23.7 percent. Marijuana was up with 12.4 percent. Heroin followed with only 6.2 percent.

Males accounted for 92 percent of the inmates incarcerated for federal drug trafficking in the study. Non-Hispanic black inmates accounted for 76 percent of the people incarcerated for these drug crimes. People over 30 years old accounted for 79 percent of the incarcerations.

When weapons are used in connection with the drug crime, sentencing enhancements are possible. In around one out of every four cases, weapons were used. Most of those people had sentencing enhancements attached that increased the time they were incarcerated. Those statistics highlight the stark reality for people who are facing drug charges on a federal level.

Anyone who is facing federal drug charges needs to get started on a defense as early on in the case as possible. This provides an opportunity for an investigation into the circumstances of the case. From there, it is possible to determine the possible defense strategies that might apply to your case.

Source: Time, “A Look At Who Is Behind Bars for Drug Crimes,” Maya Rhodan, Oct. 27, 2015