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Possession or manufacturing of a controlled substance in Racine & Kenosha can carry a penalty ranging from $10,000 in fines and 3.5 years in prison and $100,000 in fines and 40 years in prison. Misdemeanor possessions charges could reach $10,000 and/or 9 months in jail.
Glenn Gaskill
OWI & Criminal Defense Attorney
A controlled substance is simply a drug and different drugs fall into different categories depending on their purpose and how they can affect you. When it comes to criminal charges, drug categories are referred to as schedules, in the United States, there are five schedules.
To control the use, purpose, and legality of drugs the Uniform Controlled Substances Act was created. The Uniform Controlled Substances Act lists what drugs and drug types fall into each schedule.
For a complete list of all scheduled drugs in Wisconsin, look at the Uniform Controlled Substances Act found in chapter 961 of the Wisconsin State Statutes.
The penalties for possessing illegal drugs or illegally possessing drugs that are legal (Adderall, Tylenol with codeine, or Valium for example) depend on your prior history, the amount found, where it was found and the type of drug. For first-time offenses, your charge could be a misdemeanor but if you have prior convictions what would have been a misdemeanor offense may be able to be charged as a felony.
Possession of marijuana, for a first-time offense, is a misdemeanor with a maximum jail sentence of 6 months and a fine up to $1,000. Your driver’s license can also be suspended, if at all, for 6 months up to 5 years. If instead, you have a prior drug conviction you can be charged as a second and subsequent possession of marijuana, which is a class I felony where you can be sentenced up to 3.5 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
First offense possession of LSD, cocaine, or methamphetamines is also a misdemeanor, but with a jail sentence of up to 12 months and a fine up to $5,000. Similarly, if you have a prior drug conviction you are facing a second and subsequent possession charge which is again a class I felony with up to 3.5 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.
If you are charged of possession with intent to distribute, manufacturing, or delivering drugs your penalties drastically increase. Often possession with intent to distribute is charged based solely on the quantity of drugs found, on the paraphernalia found with the drugs (plastic baggies, a scale, or a grinder), or on how the drugs are packaged (multiple bags or containers with similar or increasing quantities).
If you are charged with possession with intent to deliver you are facing a minimum class I felony (6 months in prison and up to a $10,000 fine) or as bad as a class C felony (40 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine). Depending on the drug you are charged with and the quantity your charges will range between the class I and class C felonies, the more drugs you possess the more significant your possible penalties become.
If you are convicted of a drug offense it will remain on your record for the rest of your life, unless you are granted a pardon by the governor of Wisconsin or you are granted expunction of your conviction. Not all drug offenses are eligible for expunction and not all defendants can have a conviction expunged. Additionally, having a conviction expunged seals it from public view but does not remove the conviction or the arrest record. Even with expunction, you may still have to disclose your conviction to employers, school applications, and professional license applications. In addition to the penalties the court will order at sentencing, a drug conviction can make you ineligible for financial aid for school.
To be convicted of possession of a controlled substance the prosecutor must be able to prove that the drug was in your possession. The drugs do not have to be found on you personally, but if they are not the prosecutor will have to prove that you knew the drugs were present and that you had control over them (knowing there is marijuana in your friends’ pocket would not constitute possession because you would not have control over it).
Another way to attack your charges is to challenge how the police obtained the drugs that were found. The police cannot simply approach a vehicle and search it, they must have probable cause to search and without probable cause, no matter what is found, the evidence can be thrown out. Our skilled Racine and Kenosha lawyers know how to fight against the police so that these charges will not end up on your record, give us a call today to so we can get started fighting against your charges.
