Drug Charges Attorney in Lawrence, Kansas

Anyone facing drug charges knows how stressful the experience can be. In fact, the criminal justice process in Kansas can feel so overwhelming that some people accused of drug crimes simply accept their punishment and move on. But this is not their best choice.

If you’ve been accused of a drug crime, you need to reach out to an experienced criminal defense attorney. Penalties for even misdemeanor drug convictions in Kansas are severe and get worse if you have had prior convictions. Moreover, a drug conviction on your criminal record can limit your opportunities for employment, housing, and even student loans. A lawyer could help you minimize a charge or seek to avoid a conviction altogether.

At Chahine Legal LLC, I have been resolutely defending clients charged with drug crimes in Lawrence throughout Kansas and Missouri, including Olathe, Lenexa, and Overland Park, for more than two decades. My practice’s sole focus is criminal defense which gives me the experience and resources to diligently defend the rights of my clients.

Kansas Drug Charges

In Kansas, you can be charged with manufacturing, delivering, selling, or possessing drugs.

You can be charged with the manufacture of an illegal substance merely for being caught with any of the ingredients therein if the prosecution can prove an intent to use them to produce drugs.

A deliver charge alleges that you sold, intended to sell, or even merely gave drugs to someone else. That means that money is not required to change hands for a distribution charge.

If you possess more than a legal threshold for personal use of a drug, you can face a sell charge. An assumption is made that you planned to sell what you would not use.

To be charged with possession, you may only have drugs near you. You can also be charged if you use or possess them at the time of the arrest.

Drug Schedules in Kansas

Schedules are the federal classifications of various substances based on their potential for abuse, the potential for a user to become physically or psychologically dependent on them, and whether or not they otherwise have any medical value. There are five drug schedules, with Schedule I being the most serious:

Schedule I

This includes such drugs as LSD, ecstasy, and heroin, which have a high potential for abuse and are not acceptable for medical use. Although there has been some movement in the U.S. Congress to change its classification, marijuana is a Schedule I drug.

Schedule II

These drugs have the dangerous potential for abuse and dependence. Examples include morphine, opium, hydrocodone, fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and oxycodone.

Schedule III

Substances in this category have some potential for dependency, such as anabolic steroids, testosterone, ketamine, anabolic steroids, and Tylenol with codeine.

Schedule IV

Ambien, Valium, Xanax, Darvocet, and Ativan are Schedule IV drugs which have a lower risk of abuse and dependency.

Schedule V

This category includes such prescription drugs as Lyrica and Lomotil, as well as cough medicines containing some codeine. The potential for abuse and dependence is lower than substances in Schedule IV.

Penalties for Drug Convictions in Kansas

Conviction penalties include fines, incarceration in jail or prison, or both. Kansas judges use a sentencing grid and guidelines, and they are not lenient. Prior convictions, the type of substances involved, and the amount of drugs factor into the calculation. So does the proximity to a school.

As an example, a first conviction for a Schedule V misdemeanor offense may be punishable by up to one year in jail. A jail sentence for a second misdemeanor conviction can be up to two months longer. The prison sentence for someone convicted for a Schedule I substance who has three prior nonviolent felony convictions may be up to 14-plus years. If the three prior felonies were violent, incarceration could be up to 17 years.