Health and safety are not synonymous with drugs, but the California Health and Safety Code addresses all issues revolving around health, and drug use is a health concern. The code focuses on narcotics and prescription drugs while also addressing the recreational use of Marijuana.
Most of the code focuses on possession and distribution. Possessing a drug is when you have drugs on your person or under your control. Distribution is when you are selling drugs for a profit.
Do not speak to the authorities without your criminal defense lawyer present from Simmrin Law Group.
What Drug Crimes Are in the Health and Safety Code?
California has various codes to address different parts of the law. The California Health and Safety Code has regulations regarding health care, environmental law, health, safety, and narcotics. You can find most drug crimes within this code, including the sale, transportation, manufacturing, possession, and trafficking.
You must have a criminal defense lawyer familiar with the various laws within this code to craft an adequate defense.
What Are the Drug Categories?
California has various drug categories. Depending on the drug you are caught with, there are different regulations. Types of drugs with restrictions include:
- Steroids: testosterone or ketamine
- Hallucinogens: Mushrooms, peyote, and PCP
- Depressants: Xanax and barbiturates
- Opiates: heroin, Vicodin, and codeine
- Stimulants: ecstasy and meth
There are many drugs out there, and since the law views them differently, criminal charges and penalties vary. Marijuana is treated differently because it is legal for recreational use. Even so, there are laws regarding where and how much you can have.
How Does the Code Affect Narcotics?
Narcotics are a significant concern in the Health and Safety Code because drugs are a growing problem across the state. The California government has been trying to crack down on drug abuse, which often results in innocent victims facing steep penalties and jail time. Since the DEA has laser vision for narcotics, people find it harder to get the drugs they need.
Opioids are the most common narcotic for which people get into legal trouble, including morphine, codeine, methadone, fentanyl, Vicodin, and OxyContin. There are stricter prescription regulations for these drugs.
How Is the Misuse of Prescription Medication Handled?
Medical professionals can face severe consequences when they knowingly prescribe medication for a controlled substance that is not for a legitimate medical purpose or is not used in the course of their profession. Either circumstance is prescription fraud. It is a wobbler offense, and you can face a misdemeanor or felony charge resulting in imprisonment and fines.
The defense for these charges is entrapment, false accusation, or that the prescriber did not act knowingly.
Do Prescribers Suffer Consequences?
Medical professionals have strict prescribing guidelines, especially regarding prescriptions for drug addicts. They cannot prescribe, dispense or administer controlled substances to patients who are drug addicts. Defenses available or medical professionals include the patient is not an addict, entrapment, or there is a mistake of fact.
As a wobbler offense, violations result in felonies or misdemeanors and are punishable by jail time and fines. Prescribers can also lose their licenses.
What Are Sales and Possession Violations?
You cannot sell, transport, administer or import any controlled substance in California. You cannot sell drugs like heroin, cocaine, peyote, LSD, oxycodone, Vicodin, and codeine. Marijuana and meth are addressed in another section of the code.
Some defenses are that the drugs were for personal use, you were not offering to sell them, illegal search and seizure, entrapment, and your intentions were misunderstood.
Are There Marijuana Offenses?
Recreational Marijuana is legal in California, but there are still marijuana offenses like using Marijuana in public. Adults over the age of 21 can use Marijuana recreationally, but they cannot:
- Use Marijuana in a public place
- Smoke in a non-smoking area
- Make concentrated cannabis
- Smoke within 1,000 feet of a youth center, school, or anywhere children are known to be
- Have an open marijuana container in a vehicle
- Smoke and drive
You cannot sell Marijuana without a license, and a common defense is you were giving it away, not selling it. A violation is a misdemeanor and carries fines. Juveniles will go to rehab and complete community service if convicted.
What Are Methamphetamine Violations?
Under the Health and Safety Code, residents cannot possess chemicals to produce methamphetamine. If you are found in possession of these chemicals, it is a felony charge punishable by up to six years in county jail. PCP has the same regulations, defenses, and penalties. The critical element is intent.
You can use defenses like you did not intend to manufacture meth, did not possess all of the chemicals to manufacture meth, or law enforcement conducted an illegal search and seizure.
How Can a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer Help You?
Depending on individual charges, you have many defenses available. If you are a patient with a valid prescription, that is a good defense for possession charges. Other common defenses for drugs crime charges in California are:
- Unlawful search and seizure
- Mistaken identity
- Mistaken intent
- No knowledge of the presence of drugs
Facing a drug charge is scary because there are steep penalties, and a criminal conviction will impact your future. If you are a prescriber, you can lose your medical license and damage your reputation; you need a California drug crimes lawyer who can craft a defense that reduces or eliminates these charges.
Does Simmrin Law Group Help with Criminal Charges?
Our criminal defense lawyers are here to help people facing drug charges. Our goal is to have the charges dropped or dismissed. A conviction is life-changing; you will spend time in jail and pay steep fines.
The Simmrin Law Group is well-versed in criminal defense, and we can craft a strategy that benefits you. Telling the truth does not get you out of a criminal case, although it should. When the prosecutor has their eyes set on a conviction, you need a drug crimes defense lawyer with knowledge and experience, so schedule a consultation with us using our online form.