Here is a scenario for you to consider.
Let’s say that you are traveling across country or passing through Oklahoma on your way to a vacation spot. Let’s say that you have some illegal drugs (controlled substances) on you.
You are speeding and you get stopped in Oklahoma, just outside of Muskogee. The officer asks if he can search the car. You consent. The officer finds some illegal drugs in the car.
Could you be charged with trafficking illegal drugs in Oklahoma? The answer is maybe.
What Constitutes Trafficking Drugs in Oklahoma
Surprisingly, you need not be a drug dealer to be charged with drug trafficking in Oklahoma if you fit the statute’s other criteria. In Oklahoma, possession alone is enough. It is more a question of how much of the controlled substance is in your possession at the time that you are caught with it. Okla. Stat. tit. 63 § 2-415
Possession of smaller amounts of these controlled substances may be charged differently with smaller penalties involved. But possession of these substances, at the minimum levels listed below will be charged as trafficking, with much stiffer penalties. The problem is that some of these quantities listed are fairly small.
Penalties are Severe for Trafficking Drugs in Oklahoma
Oklahoma categorizes their illegal and controlled substances according to risk. The more addictive and risky the drug, the larger the penalties for use and possession. The less risky and less addictive the substance, the smaller the penalty. (Okla. Stat. tit. 63 § 2-415; Okla. Stat. tit. 63 § 2-201, et. seq.)
For drug trafficking, all categories of substances carry jail terms, and the fines can run as follows for the minimums stated:
- Marijuana: 25 pounds, $25,000 – $100,000. Above 1,000 pounds, your fine will be more in the $100,000 to $500,000 range.
- Cocaine: 28 grams, $25,000 – $100,000. Above 300 grams, your fine will be more in the $100,000 to $500,000 range.
- Heroin: 10 grams, between $25,000 and $50,000. 28 or more grams, and the fine jumps to as much as $500,000.
- Amphetamine or methamphetamine: 20 grams, $25,000 -$200,000. Being caught with 200 or more grams pushes the fine up into a possible $500,000 range.
- LSD: 1 gram, $50,000 – $100,000. Ten grams will push the possible fine up to the $250,000 range.
- PCP: 20 grams, $20,000 – $50,000. Possessing 100 grams or more buys a fine between $50,000 and $250,000.
- Cocaine base: 5 grams, $25,000 – $100,000. Fifty or more grams will push that fine up to the $500,000 range.
- Even prescription drugs can give rise to a charge of drug trafficking. Thirty tablets of methylenedioxy methamphetamine carries a minimum fine of $25,000. 1,000 grams of morphine carries a minimum fine of $100,000. Oxycodone (Percocet or OxyContin) and hydrocodone (Vicodin or Norco) as punishable as well, if you are caught with at least 400 grams of the former and 3,750 grams of the latter. Benzodiazepines (such as Valium, Xanax, or Klonopin) are also on that list – 500 grams or more will net you a fine of at least $100,000. (Okla. Stat. tit. 63 § 2-415)
In addition, if you are found to be in possession of the quantities listed above, you may be jailed for a term that is twice as long as that you might have been jailed for drug distribution. It is all a matter of how much of the substance you possess.
A five-year prison term under the lesser charge of possession turns into a 10-year prison term under the trafficking drugs in Oklahoma statute.
Low-cost Consultation: Muskogee Drug Defense Attorney
Laws regarding drugs in Oklahoma are complicated and the penalties are severe. If you are accused of a crime, contact a Muskogee drug defense attorney right away.
Call Wirth Law Firm – Muskogee today at 918-913-0725 or toll free at 1-888-Wirth-Law (1-888-947-8452) for a low-cost, confidential consultation.
If you prefer to contact us by email, use the form at the top of this page.
