Everyday Drug Traffickers in Virginia

When most people think of drug smugglers, they think of nefarious gangs who smuggle contraband purely for profit, without giving a thought about the people who use the product. Sometimes, that’s true. Other times, drug trafficking is not malicious, not profitable, and not intentional, at least in some sense of the word. However, this drug trafficking is illegal and punishable under the law.

Good intentions are not legal defenses in criminal cases. However, they are mitigating circumstances when considering punishment. Furthermore, a full range of defenses is available in everyday drug trafficking cases. A Leesburg criminal defense attorney leverages these defenses during trial and, more commonly, during pretrial settlement negotiations, to obtain the best possible results under the circumstances.

Unexpected Drug Traffickers

Many drug traffickers believe they’re doing the right thing. Other drug traffickers, or at least people arrested for drug trafficking, don’t know they’re doing anything drug-related at all.

Good intentioned drug traffickers include people fetching prescriptions for friends, people giving leftover pills to friends, delivery for “legitimate” purposes, and unwitting drug mules.

The first category, or a variation of it, is common when people do lots of traveling. Assume Sarah unintentionally leaves her medicine behind when she goes out of town. She asks John to mail it to her hotel for her, and John does so.

John is a two-time drug trafficker. First, he possessed drugs beyond what he needed for personal use. Second, he shipped those drugs to another person. In fact, since John used the mail, he’s also committed mail fraud, which is a federal crime.

Second, a few medical providers still over-prescribe opioid pain relievers. For example, a clinic might give Alex a dozen oxycontin after his root canal. If Alex gives his leftover pills to his neighbor, you guessed it, Alex is a drug trafficker.

Drug trafficking penalties for opioid pain pills are particularly harsh. Giving one pill to a friend is usually a felony in Virginia.

Periodically, area law enforcement agencies run drug disposal campaigns. These campaigns encourage people to deliver unused pain pills to be destroyed. However, these programs often don’t offer legal immunity for drug trafficking. So, if these people get caught, they could be charged with drug trafficking.

The “I don’t want to know what I’m carrying” unintentional drug mule is probably the least sympathetic kind of everyday drug trafficker. If someone gives Michael a package to carry, and Michael doesn’t ask what’s in the package or open it, he could be charged with drug trafficking if the package contains illegal drugs.

Possible Defenses

Drug trafficking is basically enhanced drug possession. Lack of actual knowledge, a drug possession defense, could be a defense in some of these cases.

However, for the most part, all elements of drug trafficking are present. This offense doesn’t require proof of malice or the intent to make money. In fact, the drug trafficker could lose money, like pay for a stamp to ship a package, and still be guilty of drug trafficking.

Most Leesburg criminal defense attorneys take the mitigating circumstances route in these situations. The mitigating circumstances, along with proactive rehabilitation efforts, such as voluntarily taking a class, go a long way toward getting deferred disposition or even pretrial diversion. These resolutions don’t stain the defendant’s permanent record.

Count on a Dedicated Loudoun County Lawyer

There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. Convenient payment plans are available.

Source:

usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1990/july/profile-modern-drug-smuggler