I am charged with a drug offense in federal court. I’ve heard there are severe penalties for drug cases in federal court. Is that true?

Most drug cases involve not only the sentencing guidelines, which are quite harsh in drug cases, but also involve mandatory minimum sentences determined by the amount of drugs involved. Moreover, a defendant can be held accountable for drugs possessed by another person simply if the defendant and the other person engaged in joint criminal activity, and the other drugs were foreseeable to the defendant.

Sentences are particularly harsh in cases involving crack cocaine. For example, if it is found that a defendant with no criminal history possessed with the intent to distribute 280 grams of crack – or even if only part of the 280 grams was possessed by the defendant and the rest was possessed by a co-conspirator and foreseeable to the defendant – the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.