DRUG OFFENCES

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 creates various offences which relate to controlled drugs including: Importation, production, cultivation, supply, and possession. 

If you are found in possession of drugs, then the police are likely to arrest you and interview you under caution. The drugs will be seized and sent for analysis to a laboratory where they will be tested to establish their identity and whether they are controlled drugs in accordance with the classification under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. You may be released under investigation whilst this process is undertaken, this can take a number of months. The police will then decide in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service whether you should be charged with an offence.  If you are however caught with a small number of drugs the police may offer to formally caution you. To be eligible for a caution you need to admit the offence of possession, it is therefore extremely important that you take legal advice.

However, being charged for possession with intent to supply will be based on what evidence there is in support of an allegation of being concerned in the supply of drugs or possessing drugs with intent to supply. This can be derived from many factors such as quantity, presence of cash, paraphernalia such as scales and debtor lists, and from text messages. A decision whether to charge for the supply of drugs, as opposed to simple possession, will be based on the facts and evidence in each case.

If you are charged following interview, you will be before the lower courts. Most drug offences are “either way” offences.  This means that you will be able to elect to be tried in the Crown Court by a jury, rather than in the Magistrates’ Court. Your solicitor will advise you on the pros and cons of each venue. In some cases, the Magistrates will decline jurisdiction because the case is too serious, and there are some offences (e.g. conspiracy offences) that are ‘indictable only’ and can only be tried in the Crown Court. 

Convictions for the importation and supply of controlled drugs will usually result in the imposition of immediate custodial sentences. There are sentencing guidelines in which sentencing ranges are determined by the classification of the drug, the category of seriousness and the level of culpability.