Boston Drug Crime Defense Attorney

Massachusetts Drug Crime Penalties

If you have been charged with a drug crime, you are probably interested in learning about the penalties for this type of offense.  Drug crime penalties can range from minor to severe, and depend upon many different factors.  The type of drug crime committed will have a lot to do with resulting penalties.  For example, the penalties for drug possession may not be as steep as they would be for drug trafficking.  The punishments will also depend upon the amount of drug involved in the crime, and the classification of the drug.  As a general rule of thumb, the larger the amount of drug involved in a crime, the worse the penalty will be.  The same thing goes for drug classifications, because drugs that are highly addictive and have no medical purpose are considered to be worse or more dangerous than others.  The defendant’s criminal record will also have an effect on the sentence because first time offenders typically aren’t punished as harshly as repeat offenders.    

Both Massachusetts and Federal statues classify drugs according to their potential for abuse.  Criminal penalties for drug offenses vary according to the classification of the controlled substances involved in a crime.  Federal law groups them into Schedules I through V based upon their addictive properties and medicinal value, while Massachusetts law groups substances into Classes A through E for the purpose of specifying criminal penalties:

• Class A:  Heroin, Morphine, Opium, Cocaine, Codeine, Methadone, Amphetamines, Speed, PCP 
• Class B:  Hallucinogenic Substances, Mescaline, Peyote, Mushrooms, THC, Valium
• Class C:  LSD, Librium
• Class D:  Barbital, Compounds containing small amounts of Codeine, Morphine, or Opium
• Class E:  Compounds containing small amounts of Codeine, Morphine, or Opium

To find out more about the penalties you might face from a drug offense, contact Boston Drug Crime Defense Lawyer Thomas A. Brant!