Maryland Drug Trafficking Lawyer 

Drug trafficking charges are taken seriously in Maryland, and the maximum penalties someone can receive for these charges can be harsh. The maximum penalties are severe because trafficking is not just viewed as possession or possession with intent to distribute. Law enforcement and prosecution are thinking that the person is a major player in this pyramid, so the closer the person gets to the top of the pyramid, the more they need to put the person in jail.

Even if the person was to cooperate, the person is still looking at jail time, they are not going to let up. That is where a Maryland drug trafficking lawyer can help. A skilled drug lawyer will be familiar with potential arguments that the prosecution might use, and with the severity of the penalties face, and can use all of that information to inform their approach to your case.

Penalties for Drug Trafficking

Maryland drug trafficking laws are particularly harsh. They are looking at it with regards to someone who has a substantial amount on them and if they do not have that substantial amount on them, they can still be included as a part of the larger conspiracy and trafficking charges. If a person has 45 kilograms or more of marijuana, they are going to go after the person for a major felony and 25 years of incarceration. If the person has less than 45 kilograms, they are still looking for 10 years. If the person has lower than that amount, the maximum penalty is five years. That is what they are looking at in terms of trafficking with respect to marijuana.

As far as other drugs, they are going to break it down. There is a substantial amount of talk with regards to heroin. With heroin charges in Maryland, if it is a misdemeanor, the penalty is four years. That is just for possession on a person. At the felony level, like possession with intent to distribute and trafficking, if the person is labeled a drug kingpin, the person is looking at 20 to 40 years and $1,000,000 fine. That is how serious the laws in Maryland are, which is why hiring a Maryland drug trafficking lawyer can be vital to anyone facing drug trafficking charges.

Learn more about the Risks of Drug Transportation in Maryland

Transporting Dangerous Controlled Substances

Some of the counties in the state of Maryland will charge the person with importing drugs the person comes in with an out-of-state license and a vehicle from out of town. Maryland is very strict on drugs, especially when the person has large quantities. They will prosecute the person. It gets the person in jail for the most amount of time so that they know they have cleaned up the streets.

The prosecution will come after the person with everything that they have. Being found responsible not only means a person could be sentenced to jail for a substantial period of time, but that criminal conviction is like a dagger for any possibility to obtain employment down the road. It is a felony conviction with drugs and very few people are willing to take a chance on somebody with a drug conviction.

Maryland Law Enforcement’s Approach to Trafficking

Maryland law enforcement has a lot of vice squads or strike teams that are very much a part of this whole process. Each county runs them differently. Baltimore City makes the news regularly, and Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Prince Georges County are also sometimes on the news for their drug busts. These counties have substantial drug busts and celebrate them. Every time they successfully bust a drug trafficking ring, there is a press conference and a press release.

In doing so, Maryland law enforcement is putting people on notice. It is not so much celebrating that they have done all these great things, but that they can and continue to do them. It is not that they are letting up, they are making it well known that they are going to prosecute cases. By investigating them as hard as they are, a person should be on notice that they are going to keep going, they are not going to slow down or stop at anyway.

Think about what law enforcement is trying to do when they are cracking down — nothing. They are not doing anything different other than utilizing every tool that they have, including the media, to make sure a person understands that they are coming after everyone.

Role of Jurisdictional Borders

Someone with a substantial amount of drug trafficking in and out of the state is not going to stay in the state of Maryland courts for that long because the federal government will likely have a much larger role and may already have an investigation going on. The federal government can step in and say that they are taking the case, No one stops them because they are the federal government and look at what is alleged, how it is alleged, and who may or may not take the case over.

Cases Involving Multiple Defendants

A good number of drug trafficking cases involve multiple defendants. It is rare that law enforcement has to find someone not only holding down an entire operation but able to execute on it. There are so many complexities involved in successfully moving and selling drugs, that it is impossible to believe that somebody is doing it by themselves. No one carries out a drug trafficking operation on their own, which is why law enforcement often pursues multiple people at once.

Importance of a Drug Lawyer

Drug trafficking charges in Maryland are taken very seriously. Maryland law enforcement is vigilant in their investigation of drug trafficking, and you deserve an attorney who will be equally vigilant in crafting your case. A skilled lawyer can look at all of the existing facts of your case, and use them to pursue defense strategies that are applicable to your case. If you are facing drug trafficking charges, get in contact with a Maryland drug trafficking lawyer who can build you a solid defense.