Tag: drug crimes

Last month we talked about Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement that the Obama administration was working toward reducing and eliminating draconian sentecing, often caused by mandatory minimum sentences. Especially prevalent with federal drug crimes, nonviolent, first-time offenders are sent to prison for years. For one woman serving time in Waseca, her mother questions why her sentence had to be so long.
Two Bemidji residents are in custody after a Beltrami County sheriff’s deputy came to their home to serve one of the residents with civil filings. When the 29-year-old man opened the door to accept services, the deputy claims the smell of marijuana was quite strong. After applying for a search warrant, police officers searched the home and claim to have found 85 marijuana plants.
If you think the only people being charged with methamphetamine charges are people living in rural Minnesota, you would be wrong. The face of meth use is growing to include all kinds of people and many people who are being charged in Minnesota and across the country on meth charges are not even using the drug, they are only somewhat related to the manufacture and sale of meth.
A number of police officers in Minnesota will not face criminal charges after they were accused by activists of giving marijuana to members of the Occupy Minneapolis movement. After a documentary was released of officers allegedly giving drugs to individuals in Peavey Plaza, there were some who were calling for criminal charges to be filed against the officers involved.
Minnesotans may be interested to learn that the National Survey on Drug Use and Health has released its results from 2011 and the number of people abusing prescription drugs is the lowest it has been since 2002. Marijuana use, however, is on the rise, with young people. The question is, why is one falling while one is rising? One man believes it is because of a lack of alternative sentencing programs for people arrested of marijuana use.
A 26-year-old Richfield man’s life may be over after he recently pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine in federal court. The 26-year-old had supposedly been working with a 40-year-old who had repeatedly sold methamphetamine to undercover police officers. It appears that it was only one time that the 26-year-old had actually sold to officers and he had only done so under the direction of the older man. Because he pled guilty, it is unlikely that we will ever learn if the younger man had been selling these drugs willingly.
Being charged with a serious crime is incredibly difficult, but facing 19 indictments is likely overwhelming, especially for a young person. What is even more difficult is trying to keep a cool head and rationally doing everything one can to clear one’s name. This is why it is so important to work with a strong criminal defense attorney who will help explain what options are available. Failing to do so could lead to a wrong move.
Two 20-something men from St. Paul may be facing a lifetime in prison after police are saying they have found 3 pounds of meth in their homes. When many people in Minnesota hear “life in prison” they are most likely thinking that these two men, 22- and 28-years-old, are running a vast methamphetamine empire across Minnesota and the United States. To find out that each are only facing a single count each of possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute meth, it seems like a ridiculously harsh punishment.
There has been talk in a few cities across the country about partially decriminalizing marijuana for recreational use in an attempt to reduce the number of young adults getting criminal records. Even for something as little as misdemeanor marijuana possession charges, a Minneapolis man or woman could face serious problems. He or she may have to pay a large fine or spend time in jail; regardless of what the punishment is, he or she will now have a criminal record.