If you’ve been accused of a drug crime in California, then you’re likely going over every potential option – the best case and worst case scenarios. At Law Office of Michael L. Fell we’d suggest that your time would be better spent with a free legal consultation so you can get direct answers to your questions. However, we know you’re looking for general information on the average sentencing lengths for drug convictions in California.

There are three drug possession charges in California

First and foremost, the length of a sentence depends on the specific charge. There are three types of drug possession charges in this state:

1. Actual possession. This refers to a person who had the drug on them or had control over the drug. In short, if a person was holding a drug or had immediate access to it, then the charge will likely be actual possession.
2. Constructive possession. This refers to a situation in which you don’t have immediate access to the drug but you do have the right to control it. For example, the drugs could be in your house or offices, or a friend could be keeping them for you.
3. Joint possession. This refers to a situation in which two or more people share actual or constructive possession over the drugs.

No matter which of these you’ve been charged with, it’s important to contact an attorney sooner rather than later.

There are five categories of drugs in California

Another factor in how long a sentence will be is what the drug was. California separates drugs into five schedules, with Schedule 1 (which includes LSD, ecstasy, and heroin) resulting in the most significant consequences while Schedule 5 (which includes cough syrup) generally comes with the most lenient sentencing. If you’re caught possessing any schedule of drug then you’ll be facing a misdemeanor, which can come up with up to a year in jail.

Average time served for various drug crimes in California

While the first count of possession is almost always a misdemeanor, that’s not the case with all drug crimes. In 2010, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a report that showed the average months a person served for a felony drug crime was 4.7 months. However, there was more variance based on the specific crime.

For sales offenses the average jail time was 5 months, for hashish possession the average was 4.6 months, for possession for sale the average was 4.9 months, and for manufacturing the average was 8.8 months. These are just general results. Note that there are other variances that can affect how long a person spends in prison. For example, men tend to spend longer in prison than women do.

Call an experienced drug crimes attorney

Of course, the best case scenario is that you don’t spend a second in jail or prison. If you’re ready to find out how you could move forward from your drug crime accusation, please contact Law Office of Michael L. Fell at (949) 585-9055 for help.