NYC Drug Cultivation and Manufacture Lawyers
Drug cultivation and manufacture charges can range from simple misdemeanors to huge federal felonies. Regardless of the severity of the charge, you need a competent and forceful criminal defense attorney. We can help with all types of drug cultivation and manufacture cases.
Manufacturing drugs, or growing marijuana is a huge felony. If you’re involved in such an operation in any way, you are facing years of prison, and forfeiture of assets. You need a criminal attorney who understands how to handle these cases. We accept clients all over the state of New York, for these types of cases. Many state and federal agencies conduct stings in New York, to demolish meth labs and marijuana growing houses. These stings are typically done because of surveillance or tips from citizens.
One of the first things our nyc criminal attorneys do, is understand what triggered the investigation – and how the raid/arrest was done. If there’s no probable cause for a search warrant, or if your rights weren’t read – it may help improve your case. If the police found drugs, and were relying on chemicals and equipment as evidence of drug manufacturing – then it can be used against the police and the prosecutor.
What to do if you’re arrested
If you’re arrested, you should excercise your right to remain silent. Anything said can be used against you. For example, if you start answering questions – and then stop, that can be used as an admission of guilt. The 5th amendment is something you need to use, as a way to protect yourself from self incriminating confessions. The statement you make to an officer can be used as evidence of guilt, and go in support of a prosecutor’s case. Any suspicious silence, or stubborn answers – can also be used against you. That’s why it’s better to stay silent.
What is a drug manufacturing charge
Criminal drug manufacturing takes place when an individual is part of any phase of an illegal drug production ring. If you sell chemical ingredients, equipment, or otherwise help – you can be charged. Production of illegal drugs is treated as a felony, and sentences typically include jail time, fines, probation, and more. Sentences can be even tougher – for this convicted of doing so near schools, playgrounds, or other drug-free zones.
In order to be convicted – prosecutors have to be prove both possession, and intent to manufacture. Intent is difficult, because it requires that the prosecution enter the head of the accused – and show it to the court. The prosecutor has to find circumstancial evidence, like text messages, etc, that show what the person accused was thinking. In many cases, intent is established based on comments made by the accused. That’s why it’s important to stay quiet. Our attorneys will move to demonstrate there was no intent, by showing your good character and establishing the fact you weren’t looking to make it.
Intent can be proven by the prosecution in other ways. For example, if you have pseudoephedrine at your home, it may be used against you. The finding along isn’t enough to prosecute for manufacturing – but it can be part of the attorneys overall case. If the police find equipment commonly used to make meth, then the finding could result in an arrest. In addition, possession of “marijuana seeds,” isn’t enough to indicate intent to cultivate – but if officers find lamps, etc, it could lead to an arrest.
New Yorker’s often believe that manufacturing marijuana isn’t a serious crime. While possession of small amounts has been decriminalized, – you are at risk of serious prosecution if you grow it. It’s not advisable to grow your own marijuana in the state of New York at all. The state is well known for having the toughest laws in the nation. The worst offenders can face 20 years in prison.
Based on the facts of the case, and the way evidence was collected – our attorneys can try to have the case dismissed. If there are mistakes in the investigation, mishandling of the case, etc, it can be used to help your chances of getting the case dismissed. Many prosecutors rely on evidence gathered during the investigation. Mistakes by the police will result in dismissal of the evidence – and thus your case.
Under state and federal laws, the manufacturing or cultivating of drugs is illegal. Examples of illicit drugs that are not legal to manufacture or cultivate include marijuana and methamphetamine. With that being said, some states allow the private manufacturing of marijuana. This depends on whether or not a given state has legalized marijuana for recreational or medical use.
To fully understand what drug manufacturing and cultivation means, it is important to specifically define each term separately. First, drug manufacturing refers to an individual being involved in any part of drug production. This even extends to ingredient sales. For example, if you have sold chemicals or ingredients that could create drugs or equipment that is specialized for drug production, this may mean that you could be charged with a crime. Even if you offer to help someone to produce drugs in a minor way, you can be charged with a drug manufacturing crime.
In most scenarios, the manufacturing of drugs as a charge is looked at as a felony. If you are charged with a drug manufacturing felony, you may be sentenced to time in prison, you may go on probation, or you may need to pay large fines. If someone manufacturers illegal drugs close to playgrounds or schools, it is not uncommon for prison sentences as well as steep initial fines to be doubled.
Understand drug manufacturing
In order to prove that someone has manufactured illicit drugs, it is important that prosecutors prove both intent to produce drugs and possession of drug producing chemicals or equipment. This can be difficult in some cases.
For example, some chemicals and products that are used to create illicit drugs are not illegal in and of themselves. Pseudoephedrine used to be a cold medicine that was quite legal, for example. Today, pseudoephedrine is banned because it is often used to make methamphetamine. But if the prosecution were to bring the fact that someone possessed pseudoephedrine to court in order to say that they had the intent of producing illegal drugs, this may not be enough to charge that person with a felony because pseudoephedrine has also been used as a legitimate cold medication.
With that being said, if additional products or equipment were found in the same place as pseudoephedrine, this may be able to help prosecutors establish the necessary probable cause, and in turn, this could result in an arrest of the individual. Another good example is marijuana seeds. If someone possesses marijuana seeds, this does not necessarily mean that they intend to cultivate marijuana. But if additional equipment such as growing lights for indoor use were found along with the marijuana seeds, probable cause may be established, and this may result in an arrest.
Again, there are several pieces of equipment or chemicals that may be used in the drug production process that are also used in legal practices. For this reason, it is important that individuals who own these items legally have authorizations or permits. For example, pharmacists are legally allowed to have access to a large selection of products that could otherwise be used to create illegal drugs.
Understanding drug cultivation
When we talk about drug cultivation, we are generally referring to the cultivation of marijuana. And things get dicey when discussing the cultivation of marijuana because state laws are different than federal laws in many regions. Marijuana is basically the only exception to this.
In other words, according to the federal government, the cultivation of marijuana is basically the same as the cultivation or manufacture of any other schedule 1 drugs. This refers to how the federal government would treat a case in respect to charges brought against an individual and possible sentencing.
But many states have laws that make the cultivation of marijuana legal. For example, the states of Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana for recreational use, and several other states have legalized marijuana for medical use. But there are unique laws in all of these states as well. Patients cannot cultivate their own marijuana plants in Connecticut, for example, and patients in Hawaii can only grow as many as seven marijuana plants.
If individuals have questions about drug manufacturing or cultivation, it is important that they understand the particular laws in their respective states. Talking to a lawyer may be useful in reviewing these.