Readers may have heard of the plant commonly known as khat or qat (or Catha edulis, for the botanically inclined). The plant is indigenous to Africa and is popular in parts of that continent, as well as parts of the Middle East, and is commonly and legally used in some of those places. When the plant is ingested, it acts as a stimulant. As with more familiar stimulants, users tend to experience mild feelings of alertness and euphoria in smaller doses; larger doses can induce delusional thinking, mania, paranoia, and heart problems (among other potential harmful effects). Users typically ingest the plant by chewing its leaves. Exotic though it may be, the plant occasionally finds its way into North Carolina. I have heard anecdotal reports of its presence in Durham, and this recent story from WRAL News noted that it was found in Johnston County as a part of an unrelated investigation. This post examines state law on possession and distribution of khat. Read on for the details. Continue reading
Tag Archives: trafficking
I recently taught on the basics of drug law in North Carolina and was reminded just what a tricky area it can be. Chapter 90 of the N.C. General Statutes is a dense, complex, and ever-evolving set of laws proscribing controlled substances. There are many substances, offenses, enhancements, and sentencing rules to know, as well as evidence issues and offense-specific case law. One thorny area involves the law of drug mixtures. While practitioners handling felony drug cases may be aware of the rules here, they may come as a surprise to others. Some applications of the law in this area can produce unexpected results for the unwary defendant. Today’s post examines the rules of drug mixtures and their implications in North Carolina. Continue reading →
Judges, inmates, and others have asked me about the First Step Act, wondering whether it entitles certain defendants to a reduced sentence or an early release from prison. The confusing thing is that there are two First Step Acts—one federal, and one state. The federal First Step Act was signed into law in late 2018. North Carolina’s First Step Act did not become law. Continue reading →
Recently, I was teaching a class about the habitual felon laws when a participant asked a question that I had never considered. We know that a defendant convicted of drug trafficking may be convicted as a habitual felon, and when that happens, the defendant’s term of imprisonment is determined under Structured Sentencing based on the elevated offense class set forth in the habitual felon statutes, not based on the mandatory term of imprisonment set forth in the trafficking statute. But what about the mandatory minimum fine listed in the trafficking statute? Must that be imposed, or is the defendant “habitualized out” of all the sentencing-related provisions of the trafficking laws? Apparently, this issue comes up regularly in practice. Continue reading →
Legislation that will come into effect on December 1, 2018, made some changes related to drug trafficking. Continue reading →
I’ve recently been asked several variants of this question: If a suspect sells drugs to an undercover officer on multiple occasions over a few days or weeks, can the drug quantities involved in each sale be aggregated to reach the trafficking threshold? That led me to spend some time looking at the more general issue of when multiple caches of drugs can be combined. This post lays out the law. Continue reading →
Drug trafficking offenses can lead to really long sentences, and not just because of the special minimums and maximums that apply to those crimes. Consider this example: My husband and I agree to grow marijuana. We grow and harvest 50 pounds of it. We then arrange to sell it to a street-level distributor. Finally, we drive it in a truck to the distributor, where we hand over the ganja in exchange for a pile of money. How many trafficking offenses have we committed?
The answer is SIX! They are:
- trafficking in marijuana by manufacturing
- trafficking in marijuana by sale
- trafficking in marijuana by delivery
- trafficking in marijuana by transporting
- trafficking in marijuana by possession
- and, the drum roll please . . . conspiracy to traffic in marijuana.
State v. Lyons, 330 N.C. 298 (1991); State v. Perry, 316 N.C. 87 (1986).
And that’s not all! The conspiracy to traffic is punished at the same level as a completed trafficking offense, not one level lower as it typically the case for conspiracy. See, e.g., G.S. 90-95(h)(1) and (i). Now add in those special minimums and maximums for trafficking offenses, run them consecutively and my husband and I are looking at some very serious time apart in prison. And we haven’t even gotten to the fines that apply to drug trafficking!
Compare that to plain old sale or delivery of a controlled substance. If I sell and deliver a controlled substance, it’s just one offense. State v. Moore, 327 N.C. 378 (1990).
As I indicated at the outset, trafficking offenses can really bite.
