Drug charges are intimidating to face in Stafford for a couple of reasons; one is that most people who receive a drug charge have never interacted with the legal system before. Despite how common Stafford County drug offenses are, they are still a cause for concern. The short-term and long-term impacts these offenses can have on someone’s career, family, and, freedom is a compelling enough reason to get in touch with a local attorney. A dedicated drug attorney could devote the time and resources necessary to achieve a positive outcome for you.
The most common Stafford County drug offenses involve drug possession. Marijuana is by far the most common but after than opiates of all kinds are very common includes the heroin, Percocet, Oxycodone, and things of that nature, also methamphetamine is not unusual for people to possess and PCP is on the rise as well.
There is a larger concentration of these types of crimes in certain areas. However, it would not be fair to say that there is any particular neighborhood or area that they are unique to. These are actually things that we find in high-income areas and the low-income areas as well.
By far the biggest epidemic and the thing that law enforcement is most focused on right now are opioids. Heroin is always a big problem and as well as prescription opiates such as Percocet, Oxycodone, and things of that nature. In addition to that, other drugs such as PCP are on the rise and of course, police are always very focused on marijuana simply because it is one of the more common Stafford County drug offenses.
Having a criminal record is something that is always a possibility when a person is charged with the drug offense. Not just having any criminal record but having a criminal record that would tell a current employer, a potential employer, or anyone else who would look that a person might be a person that has problems with drugs. That relates to the stigma that attaches to having a conviction of that kind. That something that makes a difference in trying to find a work and trying to keep a job, and trying to hold a security clearance, in some cases in applying to schools and various types.
In addition, there is quite a bit of confusion about what is legal and what is not legal in various jurisdictions because states handle different kinds of drugs differently. While it is true that it is illegal to have heroin everywhere without a prescription, there is a patchwork of approaches to possession of marijuana and also a patchwork of approaches in how to deal with people who are charged with these kinds of crimes. In many states, the very step is diversion, it is unusual for these charges to result in convictions but that is not true in Virginia. Virginia treats these things much more harshly than most states and so the consequences and penalties for common Stafford County drug offenses are always potentially worst here than many other places.
Constitutional issues are always a potential issue in drug cases. The United States Constitution guarantees a number of rights and privileges to individuals, which can be affected in a criminal case. For example, the Fourth Amendment guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches or seizures, and so we are always asking the question was the person illegally seized by the police or detained, was the person illegally searched by the police?
In addition, the Fifth Amendment is very often implicated, it provides that a person cannot be compelled to provide evidence against themselves. If an individual is being questioned after being arrested and that is done without a Miranda Warning or even in some cases if they are being questioned by police after asking for an attorney to assist them, those can be violations of their rights that are important in the case and that may lead to the evidence that was obtained by that violation being suppressed at trial. If an individual feels that their constitutional rights were violated and they want to know more about common Stafford County drug offenses, they should consult a capable drug attorney that could answer their questions,
Northern Virginia Criminal Defense Group
