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Drug Charges

Your Sentence For Violating North Carolina’s Drug Laws Will Depend On The Penalty Schedule

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Sometimes federal and state drug laws conflict with each other. While you may be in conformity with your state laws, you could still be prosecuted under federal laws per the doctrine of preemption. This page focuses on state-level drug charges in North Carolina. The penalties for violating North Carolina’s drug laws depend upon what you were doing with the drug (i.e., simply possessing it, possessing it with the intent to distribute it, actually selling or distributing it, etc.) and the particular schedule that the drug falls into.

Whether you were charged with drug possession, trafficking, distribution, selling or manufacturing, you need a strong, experienced criminal defense team. Our attorneys at PRJ Law have literal decades of experience in defending individuals against a wide range of drug charges. North Carolina’s drug laws vary from misdemeanors to felonies and will negatively impact your life and record.

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NORTH CAROLINA

DRUG LAWS

SELLING TO MINORS OR A PREGNANT WOMEN

Adults 18 or older distributing illegal drugs to teens who are older than 13 but 16 or younger face Class D felony drug charges. Selling drugs to a minor who is 13 or younger is a Class C Felony. It is not a defense to these charges that you did not know the person was pregnant, or that you thought the minor was legally an adult.

Death By Distribution Act

If you sell certain controlled substances and the ingestion of the certain controlled substances causes the death of the user, it is generally a Class C felony. In certain aggravated circumstances involving certain substances, this becomes a Class B2 felony.

Drug Paraphernalia

If the drug paraphernalia relates to marijuana, this is a Class 3 misdemeanor. If it is for a drug other than marijuana, it becomes a Class 1.

DRUG FREE ZONES

If you commit sell, deliver, manufacture, or possess with the intent to do any of those things within 1000 feet of any school, center, or public park, it is a Class E felony.

POSSESSION, MANUFACTURE, SELL/DELIVER

The punishment for these acts depends on the drug and schedule it falls in. Please see below for penalties.

NORTH CAROLINA

PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION

In North Carolina, all the different types of drug offenses are addressed in one statute (law). This statute lays out both prohibited conduct and the penalties for violating North Carolina’s drug laws

The punishments for illegally trafficking controlled substances are more severe than for possession, possession with intent, selling or delivering, or manufacturing. North Carolina’s drug law lays out the minimum amount of each controlled substance that must be involved in order for a person to be charged with trafficking.

Schedule I

Drugs that are highly abusive and with no medical use.

Only punishable by a suspended sentence with probation.

Includes heroin and other certain opium derivatives, Ecstasy/MDMA, GHB, peyote, certain opiates, fentanyl derivatives, psilocybin (mushrooms), systemic depressants including methaqualone, certain stimulants, NBOMe compounds, and synthetic-cannabinoids (“fake marijuana”).

Schedule II

Highly abusive drugs with physical or psychological dependence that have accepted medical uses.

(suspended sentence of up to 45 days with probation), unless the quantity exceeds 100 tablets/capsules/doses, or unless the substance is hydromorphone (Dilaudid) and the quantity exceeds four tablets/capsules/doses, in which case it becomes a Class I felony (suspended sentence with probation).>

Includes raw opium, opium extracts, codeine, methadone, cocaine, morphine, hydromorphone (generic Dilaudid), oxycodone, methamphetamine, and amphetamines (Ritalin or Adderall), ethylmorphine, etorphine hydrochloride, hydromorphone, metopon, oxymorphone, thebaine, and dihydroetorphine.

Schedule III

These drugs have an accepted medical use and may lead to limited dependence or abuse.

Suspended sentence of up to 45 days with probation.

Includes lysergic acid (“LSD” or “acid”), secobarbital, ketamine, Ccortermine, anabolic steroids, oxymetholone, testolactone, and testosterone.

Schedule IV

Drugs that have an accepted medical use with limited dependence and lower potential of abuse.

Suspended sentence of up to 45 days with probation.

Certain depressants, including alprazolam (generic Xanax), carisoprodol (generic Soma, a muscle relaxer), and clonazepam (generic Klonopin), Valium, Rohypnol, Darvon, Barbital, Clorazepate, Ethinamate, and Zolpidem.

Schedule V

Drugs with an even lower potential for abuse and currently accepted medical use in the United States.

Suspended sentence of up to 30 days and probation.

Drugs low potential for abuse and currently accepted medical use in the United States.

Includes mixtures or compounds containing certain amounts of narcotics—for example, up to 200 mg of codeine or any of its salts per 10 grams or mL, up to 100 milligrams of dihydrocodeine or ethylmorphine or opium, or up to 0.5 milligram of difenoxin; and certain anticonvulsants, including pregabalin (generic Lyrica),

Schedule VI

Drugs low potential for abuse and currently accepted medical use in the United States.

For up to ½ ounce of marijuana or 1/20th an ounce of the extracted resin of marijuana (“hash”): Class 3 misdemeanor, and the court specifically cannot give you an active sentence.

If the substance exceeds those amounts but is still 1.5 ounces of marijuana or less, or 3/20th ounce of hash, it becomes a Class 1 misdemeanor (up to 45 days suspended sentence and probation).

Includes Marijuana, Tetrahydrocannabinols.

NORTH CAROLINA

DRUG TRAFFICKING OR SELLING PENALTIES

MARIJUANA

More than 10 pounds but fewer than 50 pounds: This is only a Class H felony, but because it is a trafficking charge, it has a mandatory minimum prison term of 25 months and maximum of 39 months, in addition to a mandatory fine of at least $5,000.

50 pounds or more but less than 2,000 pounds: Class G felony, but with a mandatory 35 to 51 month sentence and at least a $25,000 fine.

2,000 pounds or more but less than 10,000 pounds: Class F felony, mandatory 70 to 93 months, at least a $50,000 fine.

10,000 pounds or more: Class D felony, mandatory 175 to 222 months, at least a $200,000 fine.

COCAINE

28 grams or more but less than 200 grams: Class G felony, mandatory 35 to 51 months, at least a $50,000 fine.

200 grams or more but less than 400 grams: Class F felony, mandatory 70 to 93 months, at least a $100,000 fine.

400 grams or more: Class D felony, mandatory 175 months to 222 months, at least a $250,000 fine.

METHAMPHETAMINES

28 grams or more but less than 200 grams: Class F felony, mandatory 70 to 93 months, at least a $50,000 fine.

200 grams or more but less than 400 grams: Class E felony, mandatory 90 to 120 months, at least a $100,000 fine.

400 grams or more: Class C felony, mandatory 225 to 282 months, at least a $250,000 fine.

HEROINE

4 grams or more but less than 14 grams: Class F felony, mandatory 70 to 93 months, at least a $50,000 fine

14 grams or more but less than 28 grams: Class E felony, mandatory 90 to 120 months, at least a $100,000 fine.

28 grams or more: Class C felony, mandatory 225 to 282 months, at least a $500,000 fine.

Common Questions About

DRUG ARREST

What Is An Indictment?
An Indictment

An indictment is the instrument that formally charges against who is accused of committing a felony, filed after the conclusion of a grand jury investigation. If you are indicted, your case will move to Superior Court (where jury trials occur).

How Long Will A Drug Charge Stay On My Record?
Criminal Record

If you are not ultimately convicted, the fact that you were arrested/charged with a North Carolina drug crime will stay on your record forever unless you petition the court to have the charge expunged. If you are convicted, only certain low-level drug convictions are eligible for expungement.

Is Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia A Crime?
NC Drug Laws

North Carolina law makes it illegal to possess any paraphernalia when the intent is for drug consumption. See the “DRUG PARAPHERNALIA” section above for more information.

Will I Lose My Financial Aid Because Of A Drug Charge?
Risk

Drug convictions no longer disqualify you from receiving federal financial aid; you just have to report the conviction the next time you fill out a FAFSA.

Can I Buy A Gun If I Have A Drug Conviction?
Gun Laws

Not if the conviction was for a felony that has not yet been expunged. North Carolina has a Felony Firearms Act that makes it a Class G felony for anyone who has ever been convicted of a (non-expunged) felony to possess a gun.

Can I Join The Military If I Have A Drug Conviction?
Federal Law

It depends. Convictions for trafficking, distribution or selling will most likely bar you, but a misdemeanor may not.

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