Contact a highly skilled and knowledgeable Arizona drug crime criminal defense attorney today.

Arizona Drug Crime Laws – Information from a Criminal Defense Attorney

Throughout early history drugs were an accepted part of many religious rituals and at times lauded for their varied medicinal effects. As early as the 20th century, society started to regulate the use and possession of narcotics through varied laws and acts. The Federal Government, in 1970, passed the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. This act codified federal drug law into a uniform system, and classified drugs into five separate categories (listed in schedules), and also established regulatory requirements and penalties for the misuse of the drugs on each schedule. Today, the state of Arizona views drug use, possession, manufacture, and distribution as a crime that requires an attorney’s expertise to legally remedy the situation. An experienced and aggressive Arizona criminal defense attorney who can guide you through the maze of different drug crimes may be your only defense when facing the serious and long lasting stigma of having a drug crime in your background.

Drug Crime Sentencing Structures

Arizona Drug Possession and Sale Laws and Statutes

Arizona Drug Crime Laws

Arizona’s drug laws mirror Federal drug law, but some of the penalties differ. Some of Arizona ’s drug crime penalties may fall under Prop 200 depending on schedule, quantity, or the repetitive nature of the accusation, while other cases in Arizona do not fall under the protection of Prop 200 and retain the severity of the Federal guidelines for sentencing. Having a knowledgeable and aggressive Arizona criminal defense attorney will allow for a well thought out analysis of your specific case and how it should be represented to the state or federal courts.

Arizona drug crime law regulates matters related to distribution, intent to distribute, importation, cultivation, trafficking, possession, and the manufacturing of drugs. The State of Arizona defines specific drugs by their schedule classification and also based on a separate scale of quantity/weight for specific drug related charges. Drug charges range over a broad degree, from simple misdemeanor possession to more serious matters such as the manufacture and distribution of drugs.

At the start of a drug crime case in Arizona, either the state or federal court may take charge of the continuing process. Enlisting the representation of an experienced drug crime attorney is essential to legal success. The criminal system that has jurisdiction will depend on factors such as which laws were violated or the policies and procedures of each respective court. On many occasions a particular criminal behavior will violate both federal and state laws, and in theory, you could be prosecuted in either system for the same criminal activity.

If you are accused in Arizona of a drug crime, it is essential that you contact an aggressive and experienced criminal defense attorney who will understand both courts and their rules and procedures. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects an individual against unreasonable searches and seizures. This concept is very import to your rights; in some matters the actual seizure of the property could be deemed invalid due to an improper search.

Drug Crime Severity and Sentencing

Click here to view charts which explain the severity of certain drug related felonies and misdemeanor charges, as well as the threshold drug-weight amounts established by the state.

Possession and Sale

Under the Arizona Revised Statutes Chapters 34 and 34.1, Drug Offenses, and Chapter 27 of the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, you can find the following information:

Peyote §13-3402
Nitrous Oxide §13-3403.01
Precursor or Regulated Chemicals §13-3404
Marijuana §13-3405
Prescription-only Drugs §13-3406
Dangerous Drugs §13-3407
Methamphetamine §13-3407.01
Narcotics §13-3408
Using Minors in Drug Offenses §13-3409
Possession, Manufacture, Delivery and Advertisement of Drug Paraphernalia §13-3415
Substances in Schedule I §36-2512
Substances in Schedule II §36-2513
Substances in Schedule III §36-2514
Substances in Schedule IV §36-2515
Substances in Schedule V §36-2516

If you have been arrested on drug charges in Arizona or stand accused of a drug crime, it is imperative you contact an experienced and professional criminal defense, drug crime attorney, today.