Controlled Substances Criminal Defense Attorney

What Are Controlled Substances?

The Controlled Substances Act categorizes different substances into one of five categories based on specific characteristics, including possibility for abuse and dependency, safety for the general public, and medicinal value. The list of different types of drugs and substances included in the five categories, or schedules, is quite extensive, but in general, they fall into recognizable groups:

• Narcotics: for example, heroin, methadone, morphine, opium and fentanyl
• Stimulants: such as cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines
• Depressants:including GHB, rohypnol, and benzodiazepines
• Hallucinogens: such as LSD, peyote, and ecstasy
• Other drugs and products:including marijuana, steroids, inhalants, and cough medicine

When we hear about illegal drugs, we usually think of street drugs like heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. However, other drugs that require a prescription can be illegal when someone who doesn’t have a valid prescription for them possesses them. In fact, both federal and state law prohibit the possession of a controlled substance without a valid prescription. In addition, under federal law, possessing marijuana is illegal even if you have a state-permitted prescription for medical marijuana.

 

State and Federal Controlled Substances Charges

Although possession, as well as some manufacturing and intrastate drug trafficking cases, are typically prosecuted by the state, the federal government can prosecute any drug crime that falls under the CSA. Also, in specific instances, the federal government prosecutes drug cases because of the circumstances surrounding the arrest or alleged involvement in trafficking or a conspiracy. These specific instances include:

• If you are arrested by a federal agency, including the U.S. Parks Police, TSA, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
• If you are arrested by the DEA as part of a drug bust.
• If you are arrested for interstate or international drug trafficking.
• If you are arrested as part of a drug conspiracy.

In addition, a case can also end up in federal court because local, state, and federal agents are working together with prosecutors, and federal prosecutors decide to take the case.

A conviction for a federal controlled substances offense can have very serious consequences, including significant jail time, forfeiture of assets, and a ruined reputation. Therefore, having an experienced defense attorney who knows the ins and outs of federal court and is not intimidated by federal procedures is very important.

 

For an Aggressive Controlled Substances Defense, Get Help from an Experienced Federal Defense Attorney

At Haas Law, we take an aggressive approach to developing your controlled substances defense. We will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding your arrest to make sure the law enforcement officials had probable cause to arrest you and did not violate your constitutional rights. We will examine all of the prosecution’s evidence as well as all of the actions of the law enforcement officials involved in your case.

Depending on what we discover during our investigation, we could fight the charges against you using one or more of several effective defense strategies:

• The law enforcement officials didn’t have probable cause to conduct a search.
• The police didn’t obtain a warrant before searching.
• You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• You were not going to distribute drugs.
• You didn’t know about or weren’t involved with the trafficking activities.

At Haas Law, we do everything we can to build a robust defense so you can avoid the serious consequences of a conviction for possession or distribution of controlled substances.

 

Call Haas Law today at 407-755-7675, submit the form on our website, or chat online to get immediate help.  We can intervene on your behalf today and start developing the strongest defense possible.