Long Beach Drug Crimes Defense Lawyer

The charges

Possession, possession for sale, and transportation

Simple possession under Health and Safety Code 11350 or 11377 is, since Proposition 47 in 2014, a misdemeanor for most people and most substances, punishable by up to a year in county jail, with exceptions for those with convictions for specified serious offenses or who must register as sex offenders. The prosecution must prove the person knew of the substance’s presence and its nature, and that the amount was a usable quantity.

Possession for sale under Health and Safety Code 11351, and sale or transportation for sale under 11352, are felonies and were untouched by Proposition 47. Transportation now requires transport for sale rather than mere movement of a personal supply, which was a meaningful narrowing.

The entire fight in many cases is which of these it is. Intent to sell is proved circumstantially, from quantity, packaging, scales, cash, phone messages, and an officer’s opinion. Every one of those is contestable: a quantity consistent with heavy personal use, packaging explained by how it was bought, cash explained by employment, and an opinion witness whose experience and assumptions can be examined.

Sources: Health and Safety Code 11350 — possession of a controlled substance; Health and Safety Code 11377 — possession of methamphetamine and other specified substances; Health and Safety Code 11351 — possession for sale; Health and Safety Code 11352 — sale or transport for sale.

The search

Where most drug cases are actually won

Drugs have to be found, and how they were found is the most productive area of defense in this practice. A traffic stop without reasonable suspicion, a detention extended past its purpose, a search of a car or a person without probable cause or valid consent, a warrantless entry into a home, a search warrant supported by a stale or unreliable informant, or a phone searched without a warrant all raise Fourth Amendment issues.

Penal Code 1538.5 is the mechanism. Where the motion succeeds, the evidence is excluded, and in a possession case that usually ends the prosecution because there is nothing left. Consent is the most commonly litigated issue, because officers frequently rely on it and whether it was given voluntarily is a factual question a court has to decide.

Possession itself is also contestable. Constructive possession, where drugs were found in a shared car or home rather than on the person, requires proof of knowledge and control over the item, and mere proximity or presence is not enough.

Sources: Penal Code 1538.5 — motion to suppress evidence.

The consequences

What follows a drug conviction

For a non-citizen, drug convictions are the most dangerous category in immigration law. Almost any controlled substance conviction other than a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of cannabis makes a person deportable, and a possession-for-sale conviction is treated as an aggravated felony. Diversion that avoids a conviction entirely is often the only safe outcome, and no non-citizen should plead to a drug charge without immigration advice.

Beyond that: professional licences, commercial driving privileges, student aid, public housing, and employment. A felony conviction brings a lifetime firearm prohibition.