Drug Crimes & Controlled Substance Lawyer
Drug laws in Texas are often harsh. There are many reasons, including this state’s proximity to several foreign countries that are points of origin for drug manufacturing and delivery. Sentencing for Texas drug crimes can be complicated because it takes a number of factors into consideration. Houston criminal attorneys are familiar with the laws of the possession of a controlled substance in Houston and do their best to make sure that people who are convicted of a drug crime in Texas are not unjustly punished.
If you are arrested and charged with a crime involving drugs, it is natural to feel intimidated and overwhelmed. It is easy to lose hope in your future. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The criminal justice system isn’t set up to merely ensure that criminals are punished. It is made to provide a great number of rights to people accused of drug possession and delivery charges. Among the most important rights are the presumption of innocence and the burden of the prosecutor to prove any criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt. An accused also has valuable Constitutional rights that protect against unlawful police stops, illegal police searches, illegal questioning, coerced confessions and so forth. The best criminal defense attorneys in Houston, TX and elsewhere can use all of your legal rights in the justice system to protect you from the lasting consequences of a drug conviction.
Drug Related Charges We Defend
- Drug possession
- Drug delivery
- Possession of Controlled Substance
- Manufacturing
- Narcotics sales
- Intent to sell
- Distribution
- Drug trafficking
- Prescription drug fraud
Need a Defense Attorney for changes of Distribution,
Manufacturing or Possession of a Controlled Substance?
Texas criminal law classifies drug offenses into four “penalty groups” encompassing the least harmful substances up to addictive drugs and substances that are considered most dangerous. For example, a Penalty Group I conviction for cocaine possession or manufacturing/delivery may carry a severe penalty, including a heavy fine and a lengthy prison sentence. If you are facing charges for cocaine possession or delivery (or marijuana or illegal prescription drug possession or delivery), it is in your best interest to hire a professional Houston drug possession (or possession of controlled substance), attorney. He will scrutinize the way the police collected and handled evidence and look for any mistakes they may have made, including issues relating to vehicle stops, home or vehicle searches, warrants, consents to search, custodial interrogations (i.e., questioning without Miranda Warnings) and more.
Being arrested or charged with controlled substance – or drug distribution (a.k.a. manufacturing or delivery) is usually a felony and a much more serious matter than ordinary controlled substance or drug possession. The very first words you speak in this situation should be to your Houston drug lawyer. Texas laws seek to severely punish those who distribute drugs. This applies to all illicit substances, including not only the obvious ones — heroin, cocaine, and marijuana — but also prescription drugs like painkillers, tranquilizers and sedatives. (Some of the more popular prescription medications for which people are arrested include Oxycodone, OxyContin, Vicodin, Valium, and Xanax.) Sentencing in these cases can be very complicated and influenced by factors such as:
- The quantity of drug distributed
- The type of drug that was involved
- Where the distribution occurred
- Whether the drug was sold to a minor
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Considerations Other Than the Class of Drug:
Prison sentences and/or fines for drug possession will also vary with the amount of drug in possession. Those for larger quantities of a drug will be correspondingly higher. A canny lawyer representing you on a charge of possession of a controlled substance Houston would want to know whether or not the amount of drug is accurately measured and documented.
The purpose for which the substance was used is sometimes taken into account when sentencing someone for possession of controlled substances in Houston. Manufacturing, delivering and possession with intent to distribute carry higher sentences than simple possession. Good criminal attorneys might find a way to challenge the prosecution’s case on this point.
The location where the violation took place is sometimes criterion used in determining to sentence for drug possession crimes. Penalties are often higher for offenses committed at or near a school or daycare center. A Houston criminal attorney will be as knowledgeable about these crimes as he is the drug offense.
Another factor that contributes to the severity of a sentence for a drug crime is whether the offense was committed at the same time as a different type of violation, such as conspiracy, theft or assault. Drug crimes are penalized more severely if they are related to a serious felony involving violence, for example. If you are charged with a combination of crimes, your lawyer would carefully scrutinize the prosecutor’s case on these counts and look for possible ways of challenging it.
Our Case Results
| Case | Facts | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of shooting several people in a “road rage” incident on a Houston freeway. | Not guilty |
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of assisting in gang beating and shooting death of a teenager in north Houston. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of threatening his wife with a knife. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault | Client accused of stabbing his common law wife with a pair of scissors. | Dismissed |
| Aggravated Assault | Juvenile client accused of attacking a middles school classmate with a pair of scissors and cutting the classmate’s hair. | Dismissed |
Charged with Manufacturing Drugs?
The manufacture or cultivation of drugs is in violation of the Texas Controlled Substances Act. Traditionally, this referred mainly to the growing of marijuana plants or cooking of methamphetamine from a cocktail of easily obtainable ingredients. Houston criminal lawyers are currently witnessing a growing number of people being arrested for the manufacture of synthetic marijuana and other chemicals that are allegedly developed to mimic the effects of mind-altering substances.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and state police agencies are cracking down on alleged manufacturers of synthetic drugs and in May 2014 conducted raids in 29 states. More than 200 search warrants were executed in an operation that resulted in the seizure of more than $20 million in cash and assets. More than 150 people were arrested. Texas was among the 29 states targeted in the series of raids. Those arrested would be well-served to find the best Houston defense attorneys available.
If you are arrested on a manufacturing drugs charge in Houston, your first phone call should be to a Houston criminal lawyer. There are a number of approaches to defending someone accused of a manufacturing drugs charge in Houston. For example, a criminal defense attorney in Houston TX might point out that a drug was lawfully possessed and the cultivation or manufacture was, likewise, within the boundaries of the law.
Drug Paraphernalia – What is It?
Few people are as familiar with the complete list of “drug paraphernalia” as a Houston drug possession attorney. There are some strange-seeming items on the list. Pipes, bongs, and freebase kits are popular items, but a Houston drug crime attorney would be aware of other, less obvious items, such as fake cell phones, digital scales, pens with the ink cartridge removed, fluorescent lights and certain types of fertilizer may also be considered drug paraphernalia under certain circumstances.
Some of the above items, and others are purchased legally but are illegally used. It is unlikely that a hapless gardener would be arrested and charged for possession of drug paraphernalia simply on the basis of buying a bag of fertilizer, but if he were, a Houston drug possession lawyer would be his logical first phone call!
There are certain instances when possession of drug paraphernalia is considered more serious and the penalties are enhanced accordingly. For example, committing a drug paraphernalia crime on the grounds of a school may be charged more seriously. Again, a Houston drug crime attorney would be familiar with all the specifics of drug paraphernalia crime.
Have You Been Charged with Drug Trafficking?
The crime of drug delivery falls under the umbrella of drug trafficking. In addition to drug distribution, other drug-related offenses for which criminal attorneys defend people are transporting, selling, manufacturing, cultivating, producing, and financing. Our lawyers will tell you that even attempting to do any of these things risks being charged with a drug trafficking offense.
A common misconception among alleged drug offenders is that their case is hopeless. Defenses are available, even if a search of your person, home, or vehicle uncovered cocaine, marijuana, controlled substances, or illegal pills. Cases may be successfully defended even if you confessed or an illegal substance was found in your system. Our Houston drug crime lawyers are well-versed in the laws of search and seizure. We can protect your rights under the state and federal constitutions. Our drug crime lawyers know law enforcement protocol for a drug arrest and can quickly identify constitutional violations that may lead to the immediate dismissal of all charges. Put your defense in our hands. Contact our office today and discuss the specifics of your charges with one of our attorneys.
Penalties for Drug Trafficking
Our criminal defense lawyers will advise you on the penalties for drug trafficking in Texas. Both the state and federal governments have harsh penalties for drug trafficking.
These may include:
- Fines between $10,000 and hundreds of thousands;
- Custodial sentences from 2 to 99 years for felony offenses;
- A combination of fines and custodial sentences;
- Numerous consequences as a result of a conviction;
