Last Updated on: 26th July 2023, 08:56 pm

When you take a look at the state of New York’s penal law, you’re often going to be greeted by a veritable mountain of legalese, which can be quite a pain to sift through. But just because it can be confusing doesn’t mean it has to be. In fact, if you break the law down into its composite parts, it actually becomes pretty simple to understand. To that end, we’re going to go ahead and take a look at some more of the laws that you’ll find on the books today. Let’s keep going with our look at the New York penal law, in this post continuing our quest to figure out criminal possession of a controlled substance. Let’s start with that charge in the fourth degree.
Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree.
You’re guilty of this charge if you knowingly and unlawfully possess a preparation, compound, or substance that contains a narcotic drug, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of one-eighth ounce or more, or if you possess a preparation, compound, or substance that contains methamphetamine, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of one-half ounce or more, or you possess a preparation, compound, or substance that contains a narcotic preparation, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of two ounces or more, or a stimulant that’s a gram or more, or LSD that’s a milligram or more, or a hallucinogen that’s twenty-five milligrams or more, or a hallucinogenic substance that’s a gram or more, or a dangerous depressant that’s ten ounces or more, or a depressant that’s two pounds or more, or a preparation, compound, or substance that contains concentrated cannabis, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of one ounce or more, or phencyclidine that’s two hundred fifty milligrams or more, or methadone that’s three hundred sixty milligrams or more, or phencyclidine of fifty milligrams or more and you have intent to sell it and have been convicted in the past of one of these offenses, or ketamine that’s four thousand milligrams or more, or a preparation, compound, or substance that contains GHB, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of two hundred grams or more. Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the fourth degree is a class C felony.
Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
Now for this particular crime, you’re guilty if you knowingly and unlawfully possess a narcotic drug with the intention of selling it, a stimulant, hallucinogen, or hallucinogenic substance, or LSD with the intention of selling it, and you’ve previously been convicted of an offense like this, or a stimulant with the intention of selling it and it weighs a gram or more, or LSD with the intention of selling it and it weighs a milligram or more, or a hallucinogen with the intention of selling it and it weighs twenty-five milligrams or more, or a hallucinogenic substance with the intention of selling it and it weighs a gram or more, or a preparation, compound, or substance that contains methamphetamine, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of one-eighth ounce or more, or a stimulant that weighs five grams or more, or LSD that weighs five milligrams or more, or a hallucinogen that weighs one hundred twenty-five milligrams or more, or a hallucinogenic substance that weighs five grams or more, or a preparation, compound, or substance that contains a narcotic drug, and this preparation has an aggregate weight of one-half ounce or more, or phencyclidine that weighs one thousand two hundred fifty milligrams or more. Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree is considered to be a class B felony.
See? Not so bad. When you break the law down like we did, it all becomes fairly easy to understand, which will make mounting your legal defense that much smoother of a task to do. So if you’re ever facing any kind of legal trouble, you need to get the right legal counsel for the job