Some types of criminal charges are very specific while others are very broad. The phrase "drug crimes" actually encompasses a wide variety of specific drug charges. Depending on the specific charges that a person faces, the penalties can be very different. Therefore, it is important for Oregon residents to understand the types of drug charges they face. In general, drug charges fall into one of four broader categories.
The first category is drug possession charges. These are charges for being caught with a small amount of drugs for personal use. Drug possession charges can be state or federal charges. They, too, can be broken down. Simple possession is possession for recreational use only, where possession with intent is when a person intends to distribute that amount to another.
The second broad category is for drug paraphernalia. These are the charges that people face when they have something used to produce or use drugs. This includes scales, bongs, pipes or syringes. These items can often have a legal purpose so it is sometimes difficult to tell if it falls into this category or not.
The third category is drug manufacturing. In this category people can face crimes for being part of producing drugs. This can be at any stage in the production process. This requires proof of possession and manufacturing to be convicted.
The final broad category is drug trafficking. Here, these crimes are about transporting large amounts of illegal drugs. In these cases, authorities assume that the person was intending to distribute these drugs. Drug trafficking often has the most serious penalties. Drug dealing is related to drug trafficking but only includes selling small amounts of drugs.
Source: Findlaw.com, "Types of Drug Crimes," accessed Dec. 12, 2014
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