If you’ve been charged with violating drug trafficking laws in Arizona, you could be facing serious penalties and a felony criminal record. A criminal defense attorney experienced in handling drug cases can help protect your rights and advocate for the best possible outcome.

The term drug trafficking includes all criminal offenses defined by the unlawful sale, transport, or import of controlled substances, including both illegal and prescription drugs. Drug trafficking laws in Arizona divide illegal substances into three basic categories: Marijuana, Dangerous Drugs, and Narcotics. Each type of drug has its own trafficking statute and its own set of sentencing guidelines.

Criminal Offenses for Trafficking Marijuana in Arizona

Arizona law defines marijuana as “all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, from which the resin has not been extracted, whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant.” (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3401.36(19)). Although medical marijuana is legal in Arizona, the recreational use, sale, or trafficking of marijuana remains a crime.

Marijuana trafficking offenses in Arizona include possessing marijuana for sale and transporting for sale, importing into the state, offering to transport for sale, offering to import into the state, or selling, transferring, offering to sell, or offering to transfer marijuana. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3405). Charges for possession of marijuana for sale can be class 4 felonies, class 3 felonies, or class 2 felonies, depending on the amount of marijuana found in your possession. The remaining trafficking offenses are either charged as class 3 felonies or class 2 felonies depending on the weight of marijuana involved.

Criminal Offenses for Trafficking Dangerous Drugs in Arizona

Dangerous drugs are illegal substances that the Arizona legislature has determined to be especially addictive and/or harmful. Prosecutions for dangerous drug offenses commonly involve prescription drugs such as Valium, Xanax, Ambien, Klonopin, and Adderall. Other dangerous drugs include methamphetamines, other amphetamines, hallucinogens, steroids, and testosterone. The relevant statute includes a long list of various illicit substances that have been classified as dangerous drugs. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3401.36(6)).

Criminal offenses for trafficking in dangerous drugs in Arizona include possessing dangerous drugs for sale, transporting dangerous drugs for sale, importing dangerous drugs into the state, offering to transport dangerous drugs for sale, offering to import dangerous drugs into the state, or selling, transferring, offering to sell, or offering to transfer dangerous drugs. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3406). All of these offenses are class 2 felonies.

Criminal Offenses for Trafficking Narcotics in Arizona

Narcotics are illegal substances that are often called “opioids”. This class of drug includes opium, opium derivatives, and their semi-synthetic substitutes. Heroin and pharmaceutical drugs, such as Victon, OxyContin, morphine, methadone, codeine, and fentanyl, are common types of narcotics. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3401.36(20)).

You can be charged for narcotics trafficking in Arizona for possessing narcotics for sale, transporting narcotics for sale, importing narcotics into the state, offering to transport narcotics for sale, offering to import narcotics into the state, or selling, transferring, offering to sell, or offering to transfer narcotics. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3406).

Arizona Threshold Amount for Drug Sales

You can be charged with a drug trafficking offense if you are caught in the act of selling or transporting drugs. Arizona law also allows you to be charged with a trafficking offense if you simply possess a specified quantity of the drug. If you have at least the threshold quantity in your possession, the police will assume you were intending to sell it.

Arizona law sets the following threshold amounts:

• One gram of heroin.
• Nine grams of cocaine.
• Seven hundred fifty milligrams of cocaine base or hydrolyzed cocaine.
• Four grams or 50 milliliters of PCP.
• Nine grams of methamphetamine, including methamphetamine in liquid suspension.
• Nine grams of amphetamine, including amphetamine in liquid suspension.
• One half of a milliliter of lysergic acid diethylamide, or in the case of blotter dosage units fifty dosage units.
• Two pounds of marijuana.
• For any other drugs, a street value of at least one thousand dollars. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3401.36(36)).

the police discover drugs of a quantity that equals or exceeds the threshold amount in your possession, you can be charged with trafficking instead of just simple possession.

Possible Jail Time for Drug Trafficking Offenses

For first-time marijuana offenders, possible jail sentences range from 1 year to 3.75 years if charged with a class 4 felony; 2 years to 8.75 years if charged with a class 3 felony, and 3 years to 12.5 years if charged with a class 2 felony. Repeat felons can receive sentences anywhere between 1 year to 35 years, depending on the severity of the offense and the number of previous felony convictions.

As a class 2 felony, charges against first-felony offenders for trafficking in dangerous drugs are punishable by jail sentences ranging from 3 years to 12.5 years. However, the maximum jail sentence increases to 35 years in the case of chronic felony re-offenders.

As with trafficking in dangerous drugs, all narcotics trafficking offenses will be charged as class 2 felonies. First-time felony offenders face imprisonment for 3 years to 12.5 years. As with narcotics, repetitive offenders may receive up to 35 years in prison.

What a Criminal Defense Attorney Can Do For You

If you are facing any of these felony drug trafficking charges, you might be feeling hopeless and thinking that you will inevitably be convicted. But that is not the case. You are innocent until proven guilty, and there are a variety of defenses against charges under drug trafficking laws in Arizona that a seasoned criminal attorney can present to defend you. Common defenses against drug trafficking charges include:

Lack of Knowledge

If you’re charged with possession of an illegal drug with the intent to sell, the prosecutor has to prove that you knowingly possessed the drugs. When drugs were found in your home or vehicle and not on your person, a common defense strategy is to argue that you did not know the drugs were there. If the prosecutor cannot prove that you knew the drugs were in your possession, then you cannot be convicted under drug trafficking laws in Arizona.

Entrapment

If it fits the facts of your case, your criminal defense attorney may also argue that you were entrapped. Under Arizona law, entrapment occurs when:

• The idea of committing the offense started with law enforcement officers or their agents rather than with the defendant.
• The law enforcement officers or their agents urged and induced the defendant to commit the offense.
• The defendant was not predisposed to commit the type of offense charged before the law enforcement officers or their agents urged and induced the person to commit the offense.

These are just a few of the possible defenses that could be used to fight your charges under drug trafficking laws in Arizona. A criminal defense attorney will be able to review the facts and circumstances of your case and determine which defense is the best for you.