Not all drug charges are created equal. Some have much harsher penalties associated with them than others. One of these here in Illinois is controlled substance trafficking.
Under Illinois law, the maximum and minimum prison sentences a person convicted of controlled substance trafficking faces are double those associated with a conviction on controlled substance possession, delivery or manufacturing for the amount of drugs in question. Because of this, individuals convicted of controlled substance trafficking can face quite a few decades worth of prison time. They can also face fines of up to $1 million.
While most people have heard of the crime of controlled substance trafficking, many might not know what exactly this crime consists of here in Illinois. In today’s post, we will be going over the elements of this offense.
One of the things that is necessary for the crime of controlled substance trafficking to have occurred is that a person has to have brought a controlled substance or a counterfeit controlled substance into Illinois or caused such a substance to be brought into the state. It is also necessary that the person took these actions for the purpose of or with the intent of delivering or manufacturing the drug in-state or out-of-state. A person’s actions also have to have been knowing actions.
Thus, there are action, intent and knowledge requirements for this offense. Among the things that criminal defense attorneys can do for controlled substance trafficking defendants they represent is look into what evidence prosecutors are putting forward to prove these requirements to see if the prosecutors’ case has any particular weaknesses.
Source: FindLaw, “Illinois Drug Distribution Laws,” Accessed Aug. 12, 2014
