Common Oakland Drug Offenses
If you have been charged with possession, distribution, or other common Oakland drug offenses, you should contact a seasoned drug lawyer. These charges can have a serious impact on your life, but an attorney could aggressively defend you against the prosecution.
Most Common Drug Charges
The drug crimes most commonly seen in Oakland are simple possession of narcotics cases. These are misdemeanor charges, but the sale of drugs or possession with the intent to sell are felony cases. Of the two categories that are felony cases, possessing with the intent to sell or selling, the critical distinction between the two is in the first case a person does not have to have sold any drugs. The packaging of narcotics or having a significantly high quantity suggests that the person possessing them is selling them. The following examples can suggest an individual is selling drugs:
- Drugs are individually wrapped
- The accused possesses a fair amount of cash, scales, or baggies
- Text messages discussing meetups, prices, or quantities
Those will be treated as indicia of sales, and possession with intent to sell would be charged as a felony.
For the other category of felony, which is completed sale, there needs to be an actual sale to an undercover officer or to another civilian that is observed by police officers. The person who did the selling is arrested and charged with a felony. The person who did the purchasing is arrested and charged with a misdemeanor
Variations in Drug Crimes by Jurisdiction
Common Oakland drug offenses occur because there are significant quantities of legal and illegal drugs circulating the streets. Wherever there is an increase in the availability of narcotics or drugs, there will also be an increase in prosecutions for possessing them and selling them.
What may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction is the kind of drugs that are the subject of the charges. For example, sales in one county may be heavy in powder cocaine, while another county might see less of powder cocaine and more cocaine base or crack cocaine. Another jurisdiction might see more sales of heroin and marijuana.
Marijuana in California is legal for recreational and medicinal use, but it is still unlawful for somebody on their own to sell marijuana that is not part of a cannabis collective or cannabis store. There might be jurisdictions where narcotics are most commonly used in felony sales prosecutions, while in another jurisdiction there are more marijuana sales charges. In Oakland specifically, there are illegal sale of marijuana cases as well as cases involving heroin, crack cocaine and other controlled substances.
Unlawful Marijuana Sales in Oakland
In Oakland, law enforcement officers have been trying to crack down on unlawful marijuana sales. Oakland as a city has a fairly high number of lawful businesses that are engaged in the sale of recreational use marijuana and/or medicinal use marijuana, but there are still people unlawfully selling it in Oakland or transporting it for sale. Law enforcement is consciously cracking down on them, and a fair amount of unlawful marijuana sales cases are prosecuted in Oakland and Alameda County.
If you have been charged with any of these common Oakland drug offenses, reach out to a criminal defense lawyer and set up a consultation today. An Oakland drug attorney could help you fight for a favorable outcome in your case.