The behaviors prohibited by drug laws in Prince William County include any interaction with a drug that is not prescribed or is not a legal substance. Possession, distribution, and manufacturing of anything that a person does not have a prescription for or that is otherwise an illegal substance is going to be illegal in Prince William County.

Anyone facing a drug-related offense should consult with an experienced drug attorney who will be able to help to mitigate the potential penalties for a drug offense in Prince William County.

Consequences

When a person is charged with committing a drug crime, because drug crimes by their nature are taken seriously by employers, it is usually indicative of some other type of larger problem, like substance abuse, addiction, or unreliability. These are all the things that employers can think about when they hear that one of their employees is charged with a drug crime. In the short term, it might cause some serious trouble with a person’s employer. In the long term, a drug charge on a person’s record could make the person ineligible for many types of employment with the federal government. For example, some types of employment with school systems and other jobs are not going to allow that either. It is going to be an employment by employment basis, but it is something that is going to cause a person problems.

In addition, there is a social stigma for being charged with a drug crime, especially for some of these more serious drugs that have more of an addictive impact, like heroin and meth charges.

Sentencing Caps

In the state of Virginia, there are mandatory minimums and caps on sentencing. Caps on sentencing applies to things like felonies, where the range is going to be much higher. For a misdemeanor offense, it is always going to be a year or less, depending on the class of the misdemeanor.

For each classified schedule of a drug offense, there is a different set cap on it. For example, if a person has a Schedule I or II, the cap is going to be up to 10 years. A person is not going to get more than 10 years for a simple possession of a Schedule I or II offense. A person could have more counts, which could add to that number, or a person could have more amounts, which could add to that number. A person could have a charge of distribution or manufacturing, which would change the sentencing, including the range. For things like the Schedule III or lower possession, those would be misdemeanors, and they are not going be more than 12 months in jail by law because it is a misdemeanor offense.

For each drug offense, the potential penalties in Price William County are going to be different. A schedule III is going to be up to a year, a schedule IV is going to be up to six months, and a schedule V or VI there is going to be a fine and there not going to be any jail time attached.

Contacting a Drug Attorney

If a person is faced with a drug charge in Prince William County, they should contact an attorney and get them on their case immediately, so that they are able to start protecting themselves and start creating a defense. Often, a person might not yet be arrested for something, but under investigation, and an attorney can help mitigate the amount of incriminating evidence that the person may be giving to the police investigating them. An attorney can tell the person what the police are going to be looking for and that would be a helpful way to protect them from the initial moment of the investigation.

A person does not want to make statements or take a chance of making a mistake that maybe they are not going to be aware of without legal training. An attorney can help them curb what could damage the case later in order to avoid penalties for drug offenses in Prince William County.