Have you been charged with drug distribution? This crime is alternately referred to as drug trafficking, possession of drugs for sale, or possession of drugs for the transportation for sale. Being arrested for and charged with this crime is an incredibly serious situation, as Arizona has some of the nation’s toughest drug laws due to its proximity to the border. If you have been arrested for or charged with this drug offense, the best thing you can do for yourself is to hire an experienced criminal defense attorney—and you’ll find no better criminal defense attorneys than ours at Arizona Lawyers.
First, what is drug distribution exactly? Under Arizona law, if you possess a “threshold amount” quantity of drugs it is assumed that you have intent to sell those drugs. That’s right: regardless of what your actual intent was, the law automatically assumes you intended to traffic or distribute them. The law only gets tougher from there: even if you do not have a threshold amount of drugs, you can still be presumed to have the intent to distribute if the drugs were stored or hidden away; if you also had a significant amount of money on your person; or if you had equipment which could later be used to sell those drugs, like baggies or other containers.
To prove that you were transporting, distributing, or trafficking drugs in Arizona, the state must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, two key elements. First, that you knowingly imported, transported or sold dangerous drugs. Second, that the substance was, in fact, a drug.
If the state is able to prove both elements, then you could be convicted of a felony, which typically involves a steep fine with the additional prospect of prison time. Some drugs also carry more penalties than others, such as meth. Regardless of which drug you are charged with distributing, a conviction can have implications for the rest of your life. It can prevent you from getting jobs, and it can also carry a significant amount of social stigma.
For all these reasons, you simply cannot afford not to hire an experienced drug distribution defense attorney to defend you against these charges. Our attorneys have successfully represented numerous clients facing drug distribution charges. We start by asking you questions about the incident leading up to your arrest and look for facts which suggest you did not know you had possession of drugs, that you were forced to take possession (duress), or that law enforcement did not have probable cause or otherwise illegally searched and seized evidence contributing to your charge.
At Arizona Lawyers, we know that people are sometimes caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that there are any number of non-criminal explanations for why you might be in the same vicinity as drugs. We vigorously defend each of our clients—and are honest with them about what legal strategies will likely work better than others based on the unique circumstances of their case. If you have been charged with drug distribution, the best decision you can make is to contact Arizona Lawyers. We serve clients in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Yuma, Flagstaff, and Glendale areas, and are ready to help you. Contact us today.