Protect your rights, contact us today!
Protect your rights, contact us today!
Drug trafficking is the most serious drug charge in the state, a felony that carries mandatory minimum prison sentences tied to the weight of the substance involved, not to whether you ever sold anything. The Law Office of Gregory Chancy defends trafficking charges, challenging the search, the weight, and the lab testing that the entire case depends on. Call (770) 627-3221 for a free consultation.
Here is the part that catches most people off guard: you can be charged with trafficking without ever selling a thing. Trafficking is built on weight, not on a sale. Once the amount of a drug crosses a set threshold, the charge becomes trafficking automatically, even if the drugs were for personal use. This page is for anyone facing a trafficking charge who needs to understand why it is so serious and where it can be fought.
What makes these cases different from other drug charges is the mandatory minimum. A trafficking conviction carries a prison sentence the judge cannot go below, set by statute and driven by the weight of the substance. That is why the number on the scale matters more than almost anything else in the case, and why so much of the defense focuses on whether that number is even right. The stakes are measured in years of mandatory time, which is exactly why the response has to start early.
Trafficking is defined by weight under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31, and the threshold depends on the specific drug. A person can be charged with trafficking for selling, manufacturing, delivering, bringing into the state, or simply possessing more than the threshold amount of a controlled substance. The key word is possessing. Unlike distribution charges, trafficking does not require the state to prove you intended to sell anything at all. Crossing the weight line is enough.
Each drug carries its own threshold and its own escalating penalties. Trafficking amounts begin, for example, at a set number of grams for substances like cocaine and heroin, and at a number of pounds for marijuana, with the mandatory minimum sentence and the fine climbing in tiers as the weight goes up. Because the entire charge turns on weight, the exact amount, how it was measured, and what was included in that measurement become the center of gravity in the case.
Every trafficking charge is a felony, and every one carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence plus a substantial fine. The sentence is set by the weight tier the case falls into, and it rises steeply from there. At the lower thresholds the mandatory minimum is measured in years, and at the highest weight tiers it reaches decades of required prison time along with fines that climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The word mandatory is what makes these charges so dangerous. For most crimes a judge has room to weigh the circumstances and craft a sentence. With a trafficking conviction, the floor is fixed, and the judge generally cannot sentence below it. There are narrow exceptions, such as a defendant who provides substantial assistance to law enforcement or a negotiated plea agreement, but those are limited and far from guaranteed. Avoiding the trafficking conviction in the first place, or reducing the charge to one without a mandatory floor, is usually the whole point of the defense.
A trafficking defense is built on three pressure points: the search, the weight, and the testing. Each is a place the case can come apart. Many trafficking cases begin with a search, and a search that crossed constitutional lines can suppress the very evidence the charge depends on. If the drugs came out of an unlawful stop or an illegal search, a motion to suppress can take them out of the case entirely.
The weight is often the single most important issue, because the entire charge and its mandatory sentence ride on it. The defense examines how the substance was weighed, whether packaging or other non-drug material was included in the total, and whether the amount actually crosses the trafficking threshold or falls into a lesser charge without a mandatory minimum. The lab testing that identifies and measures the substance gets the same scrutiny, along with the chain of custody that tracks it from seizure to court. The question of whether you knowingly possessed the drugs at all, especially in a shared car or home, is another real line of defense. Pushing a case from trafficking down to a lesser charge can be the difference between mandatory years in prison and a very different outcome.
Trafficking can be prosecuted by the state or by the federal government, and the difference reshapes the case. Federal trafficking cases are investigated by agencies like the DEA and the FBI, often involve interstate or international activity, and carry their own mandatory minimum structure. A case can even be pursued at both levels, because state and federal governments are treated as separate authorities. Which jurisdiction is involved changes the court, the penalties, and the strategy, so a defense has to account for where the case is actually being pursued and where it might go.
A trafficking charge is not the kind of case to face without dedicated counsel, because the mandatory minimums leave so little room for error. The Law Office of Gregory Chancy takes trafficking cases directly, examines the search, the weight, and the testing in each one, and works to move a case off the mandatory-minimum track wherever the facts allow.
The early work is what creates options later. An attorney involved from the start can file the motions that challenge an unlawful search, question the weight before it hardens into the accepted number, and look for the path to a reduced charge that carries no mandatory floor. The sooner that work begins, the more room there is to change where the case ends up. Call (770) 627-3221 or use the contact form to start.
Gregory Chancy, Esq. is the attorney and founder of the Law Office of Gregory Chancy. He guides clients through the legal process with personal attention, and he is available for free consultations. A trafficking charge carries some of the harshest penalties in the system, and Gregory takes the time to understand each case and to explain the options at every stage.
Yes. Trafficking is based on the weight of the drugs, not on whether you sold them. Possessing more than the threshold amount is enough to be charged, even if the drugs were for personal use.
The weight determines both whether a charge is trafficking and how long the mandatory minimum sentence is. Because the penalty is tied directly to the amount, challenging how the drugs were weighed is often central to the defense.
Yes. Trafficking convictions carry mandatory minimum prison sentences that a judge generally cannot go below. Narrow exceptions exist, such as providing substantial assistance to law enforcement or reaching a negotiated plea.
In some cases, yes. If the weight is challenged successfully, or the search or testing is flawed, a trafficking charge may be reduced to a lesser offense without a mandatory minimum. The outcome depends on the facts of the case.
Yes. Drug trafficking can be prosecuted at the state or federal level, and in some cases both, because state and federal governments are treated as separate authorities. Federal cases carry their own penalties and procedures.
The Law Office of Gregory Chancy defends drug trafficking cases across its service area. Call (770) 627-3221 to confirm the office covers your area and to set up a free consultation.
A drug trafficking charge carries mandatory prison time that begins the moment of conviction, so the time to build a defense is now, not later. Call (770) 627-3221 or send a message for a free consultation with a drug trafficking lawyer.
If you, a friend, or a member of your family is facing a drug trafficking charge, call to speak with our experienced Atlanta Drug Trafficking Defense Attorneys. Our firm fights hard to win a dismissal, and our attorneys know how to use Georgia drug trafficking laws to argue down drug trafficking criminal charges due to impurities to reduce our clients’ criminal charges while we fight for a dismissal of all charges.
If you have questions about your case or need immediate legal assistance, please complete the confidential contact form.