Federal Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Drug Crimes

Various federal drug crimes carry mandatory minimum sentences. A New Jersey federal defense attorney can advise you if you are facing charges. Mandatory minimums are found under 21 U.S.C. §§841, 848. Your New Jersey federal defense attorney will explain what charges trigger these mandatory sentences.

Drug Trafficking/Dealing

Your New Jersey federal defense attorney can advise you exactly what the prosecutor has to prove for a drug trafficking charge. If convicted, your New Jersey federal defense lawyer will explain the mandatory minimum sentence guidelines in more detail. Generally, trafficking charges carry the following sentences:

5 Year Mandatory Minimum Jail Sentence (Examples)

• 100 grams of heroine
• 500 grams of cocaine
• 100 plants or kilograms of marijuana
• 28 grams of crack cocaine
• 10 grams of PCP
• 5 grams of pure crystal meth
• 1 gram of LSD

As your New Jersey federal defense attorney will counsel you, defendants with prior convictions face double mandatory minimums: 10 years for the above drug types and quantities. If a death occurred, the sentence jumps to 20 years. If there is both a death AND a prior conviction, a life sentence is mandatory.