Arizona takes drug charges very seriously. Cocaine is a powerful narcotic stimulant with serious impacts on a user’s health and well-being. It’s also illegal to use, distribute, or sell in Arizona. No Arizona resident may legally possess cocaine under Arizona Revised Statute section 13-3408 which expressly prohibits possession of narcotics.
Facing cocaine possession charges in Arizona is potentially life-altering. A conviction means a high probability of prison time, fines, and a permanent criminal record with impacts on your ability to hold certain jobs, pursue higher education, obtain commercial licenses, or even rent a home.
Cocaine Possession Charges in Arizona
A possession charge against you means law enforcement considers that you were personally in control of the cocaine, it was on your person, in your home, or you had the ability to control the cocaine. Depending on the amount of cocaine in your possession—measured by weight—the penalties upon conviction range in severity from serious to critical. Arizona’s criminal justice system applies a class system to the felony charge of cocaine possession in the following way:
- Class 4 felony possession for under 9 grams of cocaine with a presumptive prison sentence of 2 ½ years, or 3 years and 9 months if elevated to an aggravated charge (for instance, if you were found in possession near a school)
- Class 2 felony possession for possession of over 9 grams
Nine grams is considered the threshold amount of powder cocaine that elevates felony charges from class 4 to class 2 because it indicates an intent to sell. This threshold is 750mg for rock cocaine.
What Should I Do If I’m Charged With Cocaine Possession in Arizona?
Don’t wait until it’s too late to mount an assertive defense in a cocaine possession case in Arizona. Everyone has a right to the best possible legal defense working on their behalf to protect their rights and strategize the best way forward. No one should face felony drug charges without an Arizona criminal defense lawyer.
How Do You Defend a Cocaine Possession Charge?
Any cocaine possession charge should always be taken very seriously, but it doesn’t have to mean you are going to prison or that your life is over. There are some key defense strategies that a skilled attorney could deploy in your case. For instance, your attorney could pinpoint a violation of your rights when law enforcement obtained the cocaine allegedly in your possession.
An attorney could also cite a violation of police protocol in the chain of evidence in your case, resulting in suppression of the evidence that would eliminate the prosecution’s case.
Another defense strategy is to assert that you weren’t knowingly in possession. For instance, if you share an apartment with others, it’s plausible that the cocaine wasn’t yours. If the cocaine was in your car but you’d just transported friends home from a party, it’s possible that the cocaine belonged to someone else and was accidentally left in your vehicle.
In addition, if this is the first drug possession charge against you it may be possible for an attorney to seek a diversion program that could defer prosecution in favor of completing a drug treatment program.
How Can a Criminal Defense Attorney Help?
A conviction for a felony drug charge is forever. It’s essential to face a cocaine possession charge head-on with a swift, aggressive legal defense from an attorney with years of experience in defending clients against these types of charges. Don’t wait until the prosecution secures a strong case against you. Instead, seek representation from a knowledgeable, assertive Phoenix felony drug crime lawyer from Stewart Law Group today so you’ll have a powerful voice defending your rights.