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Kardos, Rickles & Hand Bucks County Divorce Attorney
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Bucks County Drug Crime Attorney

Support When You’re Charged with a Drug Offense

If you’ve been charged with a drug crime in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, it is absolutely essential that you enlist the help of an attorney who can provide advice and defense while protecting your rights.

Penalties for a drug conviction can be significant, and may include substantial fines, jail time and rehabilitation programs — and a conviction can affect your employment opportunities for years to come. But the experienced attorneys of Kardos, Rickles & Hand work to obtain the best possible outcome in your case. Often we are able to achieve downgraded, reduced or even dismissed charges, resulting in fewer or less intense penalties.

Drug crimes are unique in that, upon conviction, a court could sentence an individual to a certain mandatory/minimum length of incarceration.  This includes selling drugs near a playground, school, nursery or other protected institutions.  In addition, the mere possessing or selling of a certain amount of a controlled substance could result in a mandatory period of jail.  If convicted of a drug crime, you not only face fines and jail time, but may also have difficulty when you seek employment in the future. Your driver’s license will also be suspended upon conviction of a drug offense even if an automobile is NOT involved. Offenses like minor possession of marijuana carry the smallest penalty. However, crimes like intent to distribute or drug trafficking are dealt with very harshly by the criminal justice system and are punishable by lengthy prison sentences.

A team of Bucks County drug crime attorneys from Kardos, Rickles & Hand can explain the different types of drug crimes and the defenses we can raise. For instance, did the officer have the right to stop your automobile? Right to search it? Were the police permitted to wiretap or record your cell phone conversations? Was a confidential informant used properly?  These are just a few examples that must be handled by a qualified and respected attorney.

Controlled Substances in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and Penalties

It is illegal to possess any amount of a controlled substance without a prescription. If charged with a drug crime involving any of the following controlled substances, contact a lawyer who handles criminal defense cases immediately:

  • Barbiturates
  • Cannabis (marijuana)
  • Cocaine
  • Crack cocaine/rock cocaine
  • Ecstasy (MDMA)
  • Hashish (and hashish oil)
  • Heroin
  • LSD
  • Methamphetamine/methadone
  • Mescaline
  • Morphine
  • Opium
  • PCP
  • Prescription painkillers or stimulants without a prescription
  • Steroids

Drug crime penalties vary greatly depending on the nature of the offender’s crime (see below), the amount and type of drug in question, and the number of times the accused has been charged similarly.

Types of Drug Crimes

In Pennsylvania, there are five main types of drug crimes with which a person can be charged:

  • Possession – Having on one’s person or property a controlled substance for the purpose of personal use or distribution (It is also possible to be charged for possession of drug paraphernalia.)

  • Distribution – Selling or distributing a controlled substance

  • Cultivation – Growing or harvesting marijuana or cannabis seeds, or growing cocoa leaves to make cocaine

  • Manufacturing – Producing a controlled substance in a lab or other facility

  • Trafficking – Importing, moving, trading or selling a controlled substance over state lines

The Pennsylvania Crimes Code treats drug crimes as either a felony or misdemeanor charge.

In New Jersey, most drug charges have similar names and characterizations. However, New Jersey distinguishes between simple drug possession and drug possession with intent to distribute. It also has laws that make distributing drugs near a school zone or a public park or housing a more serious offense.

Bucks County Drug Crime Defense Attorneys Committed to Helping Clients

Qualified, respected, responsive. When you face criminal charges for drug crimes, traffic violations that resulted in a car crash, DUI or another offense, the attorneys of Kardos, Rickles & Hand protect your rights and achieve the results you want. Office locations in Newtown, Pennsylvania make us easily accessible to clients throughout Bucks County, Montgomery County and Mercer County. We have been practicing law for over 35 years and, having handled thousands of felony and misdemeanor drug cases, starting with the preliminary hearing through trial phases including appeals, we have extensive trial experience pertaining to drug arrests and the criminal justice system.  We posses the qualifications and experience needed to successfully resolve your charges.  If you or someone you know has been charged with a drug crime call one of our experienced trial attorneys at Kardos, Rickles & Hand. To learn more about our firm and our services, call us or contact us today.

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