Drug Charges

Philadelphia Drug Charges Lawyers

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government have invested a huge amount of resources to combat the so-called war on drugs. The end result is they lock up a lot of people, particularly in Philadelphia.

Due to mandatory minimum sentencing, prison is the No. 1 concern of anyone arrested on a drug charge. Before mandatory minimum sentencing, a person convicted for possession of a fairly small amount of drugs (more than two grams of cocaine or more than one gram of heroin) in Philadelphia would typically receive only probation unless they had an extensive criminal record. Now the same person would be looking at a one to two-year sentence in state prison, even for a first offense.

A drug conviction can have a devastating effect on your life. That's why we offer a free initial consultation to explain your options in simple, easy-to-understand language.

Drug crimes in Philadelphia usually involve cocaine or crack cocaine, marijuana, heroin, or prescription painkillers such as Oxycontyn, Vicodin, and Percocet. Some of the most common felony drug charges which are subject to mandatory minimum sentences are:

• Possession with intent to deliver
• Drug conspiracy

Gun charges often go hand in hand with drug arrests. A conviction for a drug crime committed with a real or fake handgun now results in a five to 10 year prison sentence in Pennsylvania, in addition to your mandatory minimum sentence for the drug charge.

The key to beating many drug cases is to get the evidence thrown out because of an illegal stop or illegal search and seizure. A drug case with no drug evidence results in a not-guilty verdict. People get pulled over for a variety of reasons, some of them legitimate, some of them not. Before you know it, the police are searching the vehicle and finding drugs, drug paraphernalia, and money. A motion to suppress is the life blood of a defense attorney's existence in Philadelphia.

If the evidence can't be thrown out, the best outcome may be to negotiate a plea agreement. Success in a drug case isn't always measured by not-guilty vs. guilty. Sometimes it's probation vs. jail. Pennsylvania offers a number of diversion programs such as Intermediate Punishment and Drug Treatment Court that will allow you to resolve drug charges without jail time and without a felony conviction on your record.

Free initial consultation: Contact Philadelphia drug charges attorneys Scarpello & LaTour for a free evaluation of your case.