Georgia Drug Trafficking And Drug Crimes

Richard Rice is a former federal prosecutor who specializes in defending people accused of drug crimes, such as drug trafficking, drug conspiracy, and possession with intent to distribute. When Richard Rice was an Assistant United States Attorney, he was one of the lead prosecutors for DEA in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) section. In that role, he supervised and coordinate local and international drug investigations, involving agencies such as DEA, FBI, ICE, IRS, GBI, the Georgia State Patrol, and other state and local law enforcement agencies. Contact him at The Rice Law Firm, LLC to discuss your drug crime case.

Under Georgia law, the most serious drug crimes are referred to as “drug trafficking.” Drug trafficking is defined in the Georgia Code as the sale, transportation, and illegal importation of controlled substances, such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and other DEA scheduled substances.

Penalties For Drug Trafficking

The penalties for drug trafficking are primarily determined by the quantity of drugs involved. For the most commonly prosecuted types of drugs, the penalties are:

Cocaine

• 28 grams or more, but less than 200 grams: mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $200,000.
• 200 grams or more, but less than 400 grams: mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a fine of $300,000.
• 400 grams or more: mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.

Methamphetamine

• 28 grams or more, but less than 200 grams: mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $200,000.
• 200 grams or more, but less than 400 grams: mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a fine of $300,000.
• 400 grams or more: mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.

Heroin and other certain schedule I and II drugs, including heroin, isomer salts, or morphine.

• Four grams or more, but less than 14 grams: mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and a fine of $50,000.
• 14 grams or more, but less than 28 grams: mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
• More than 28 grams: mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

Marijuana (despite the decriminalization in many states!)

• More than 10 pounds, but less than 2,000 pounds: mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and a fine of $100,000.
• More than 2,000 pounds, but less than 10,000 pounds: mandatory minimum of 7 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
• More than 10,000 pounds: mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a fine of $1,000,000.

Defending a drug trafficking case is a complex endeavor. A criminal defense attorney without real experience defending drug cases will miss things that result in bad result for the client and often a far longer prison sentence than would have been possible if the client was represented by a criminal defense attorney with real experience fighting drug crimes. Richard Rice and The Rice Law Firm, LLC has the knowledge and experience to fight your case and obtain the beat possible result. As a former federal prosecutor who was one of the lead prosecutors for DEA, Richard Rice can identify issues and defenses that other criminal defense attorneys may miss. In a recent case, Richard Rice’s client was facing 25+ years. Even though the government tried to hide the facts, Richard Rice was able to determine that there was a snitch that led to the seemingly random traffic stop. Richard Rice was able to leverage this information to get the charges reduced two tiers, resulting a sentence of less than 3 years. Richard Rice’s knowledge and experience saved his client over 20 years of jail time.

We Can Defend You Against Drug Charges

When you are charged with drug trafficking, trust drug trafficking attorney Richard Rice in Atlanta at The Rice Law Firm, LLC to fight for you and get you the best possible result. Request a free consultation at 770-615-0816 or by email message.