What exactly are the punishments for drug sales in Los Angeles? This has been a constant question over the last twenty-five years of my handling drug-related offenses.

People get caught for selling drugs or possessing drugs to sell them, which is kind of under the same category and the same umbrella of California's drug laws. Obviously, they're worried about going to prison or jail and what their fate will be.  Obviously, this is a very scary thing.

Whether you will receive any custody time depends on several factors.  For example, whether you have a criminal record.  If you have a completely clean criminal record, that's at least the beginning of making the argument that you shouldn't have to go to jail or prison.

For at least the last twenty-five years, I've been defending drug cases in Los Angeles. The standard sentence for a first-time possession for sales or sales case is 180 days in county jail, and then you would do a percentage of that, depending on how crowded the county jails are.

However, it's important to note that we've also seen cases where individuals received no jail time under the right circumstances. In more serious cases, prosecutors have sought prison time, but there's always the potential for a more lenient outcome.

Factors that will cause prosecutors to want prison time or to deviate from the standard 180 days on a sale case are if a weapon is involved, if large quantities of drugs are involved, and if sophistication is involved in the sales or possession for sales case.

How Much and What Type of Drugs Are Involved? Weapons?

Basically, they're going to look at how dangerous the person is and how immersed they are in the drug business in deciding how they want to deal with that person.  Sometimes, if the case is serious enough, involves significant drugs, and meets certain criteria, the federal government may become involved. This means the person may face federal custody, which often carries harsher penalties than state custody.

There's a chart at the federal level depending on much quantity of drugs a particular has, where they could be exposed to a ten-year mandatory minimum in federal prison.

So, you can see some of these sales cases can get very serious.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, now a law has been passed that if you're selling marijuana illegally, that's a misdemeanor, not a felony. This means you could potentially face less than a year in county jail, rather than a longer sentence in state prison.

So, obviously, in that circumstance, you wouldn't be looking at prison time; you'd just potentially be looking at county jail time.

It's crucial to understand the potential severity of the penalties, which can vary depending on the type and quantity of the drug, as well as the intent behind the possession. This knowledge can help you prepare for your case.

Also, whether or not you have a gun or knife in your possession — these are all factors that the prosecutors are looking at when they are given a sale of drugs in one of the Los Angeles courts.

Prosecutors have their own policies, but these are obviously tempered by the person's criminal record and the exact circumstances surrounding their arrest.  So, your best bet if you're charged with sales is to find an attorney who has handled sales of drug cases. This attorney will be able to navigate the complex legal system, negotiate with prosecutors, and provide you with the guidance you need to succeed. Their experience and knowledge of the law can significantly impact the outcome of your case.

Especially in the particular court and in front of the particular judge that your case is pending, because that attorney will be best suited to see what the parameters are of what you're looking at.

You want to obviously look at the low end of what you're looking at and also the worst-case scenario. You want an attorney who can get you that low end or even get a dismissal if there's an illegal stop, an illegal search, or some other illegal activity related to the police seizing the subject drugs that you're being accused of selling or possessing to sell. For instance, if the police did not have a warrant or probable cause to search you, the evidence they found may be inadmissible in court.

So, if you're facing a drug sales case, Remember that you're not alone. I meet with people all the time and help them through their cases in Los Angeles County. There is help available, and we're here to support you.