There have been an increasing amount of arrests and court appearance tickets issued in Nassau County and Suffolk County for individuals charged with illegal drug possession and illegal sale of drugs. If you have been charged with any of the enumerated drug possession or sale of drugs charges in New York, our law firm is fully prepared to handle your case and represent you to the fullest extent of the law.
As New York Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to assign new police task forces across the State, the Nassau and Suffolk County Police Departments have followed the Governor’s lead.
Article 221 of the NY Penal Law lists the various degrees of offenses involving marijuana (sometimes spelled marihuana). There are differing degrees of possession of marijuana which range from fifth degree to first degree. As well, the degrees of criminal sale of marijuana range from fifth degree up to first degree.
PL 221.05 details unlawful possession of marijuana and is a lesser charge regarding possession.
PL 221.10 is more stringent in its application of harsher penalties as it involves criminal possession of marihuana (marijuana) in the fifth degree.
As the numbers increase in this section of the New York Penal Law, the crimes that may be charged move from criminal possession of marijuana towards criminal sale of marijuana.
Depending on the amount of marijuana found on the arrested individual, the crime charged can escalate from a violation to a misdemeanor and finally to a felony. Each misdemeanor and felony charge has varying degrees of severity under the law. The weight of the substance is crucial to the degree of crime charged.
If drugs were found in a car then there is a presumption that everyone in the car possessed the drugs. At our firm, we know how to rebut that presumption. We know what questions to ask no matter how or where the drugs were found by the police.
Our law firm has over 40 years of experience fighting charges of drug possession and the sale of drugs. We will question the validity of the arrest and examine the circumstances surrounding it.
