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Tulsa drug crime lawyer Tag

How Police Obtain a Warrant to Search for Drugs

How Police Obtain a Warrant to Search for Drugs

Before police can search for drugs, they need to obtain a warrant from the court unless a few exceptions apply. The search warrant is a legal document explaining where the police can search for evidence of a crime. Once law enforcement has a warrant, they do not need your consent to search the specified area. Police officers must get search warrants from judges or magistrate judges. The judge issuing a warrant must be “neutral and detached” and “capable of determining whether probable cause exists”. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443 (1971). This requirement helps ensure that there is no conflict...

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The Oklahoma Trafficking in Illegal Drugs Act and Its Consequences

The Oklahoma Trafficking in Illegal Drugs Act and Its Consequences

In Oklahoma, the Trafficking in Illegal Drugs Act prohibits drug crimes involving large amounts of controlled substances. Sentencing requirements for people convicted of drug trafficking have changed in recent years, but Oklahoma still has one of the strictest sets of drug laws in the country. Oklahoma law criminalizes possessing, distributing, manufacturing, or transporting into the state certain quantities of various different controlled dangerous substances. Further, the Trafficking in Illegal Drugs Act also prohibits (1) possessing CDS with the intent to manufacture drugs in large quantities and (2) using or soliciting services of a minor to distribute or manufacture a CDS. All...

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What Are “Aggravated” Drug Crimes in Oklahoma?

What Are Aggravated Drug Crimes in Oklahoma?

If you have been charged with a drug crime in Oklahoma, you need to understand the charges against you. This could be complicated depending on what crimes you have been charged with, because the state’s drug crime laws are not written in plain language. One word that criminal defendants may puzzle at is the term “aggravated” drug crime. Oklahoma drug crime law has tiered sentences and fines as crimes become more “serious” in the eyes of the law. A first offense for marijuana possession is a misdemeanor. In contrast, a first offense for possession of cocaine is a felony. Second and...

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Can You Commit a Drug Crime Just by Using the Telephone?

Can You Commit a Drug Crime Just by Using the Telephone?

Using a telephone to commit certain felonies could net you another felony conviction in Oklahoma. This state law follows similar federal law focusing on use of communications devices in facilitating or committing crimes. Under the law, it is a felony to willfully use any “communication facility” in committing any act that is one of several felonies. 13 O.S. § 176.3(8). The felonies include distributing, manufacturing, cultivating, or trafficking drugs, including any conspiracy to do so. 13 O.S. § 176.7. Using a communication facility to cause or facilitate the commission of these felonies is also prohibited. Communication facilities include telephone, mail, wire,...

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Are Head Shops Illegal in Oklahoma?

Are Head Shops Illegal in Oklahoma?

Head shops are stores that sell rolling papers, smoking accessories, and what police might call “drug paraphernalia”, along with tobacco and other legal products. Law enforcement in Oklahoma have cracked down on head shops over the past few years, claiming that they sell items used to take drugs. For instance, a market that sold glass pipes has been repeatedly targeted for arrests and civil asset forfeiture. Oklahoma law defines drug paraphernalia as “all equipment, products and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or fashioned specifically for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing,...

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What Is the Oklahoma Meth Registry?

What Is the Oklahoma Meth Registry?

Oklahoma’s strict drug crime laws include extremely strict laws on methamphetamines. The state legislature created the Oklahoma Methamphetamine Offender Registry Act to keep people with previous methamphetamine convictions from purchasing the supplies needed to make meth. The Act requires the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control to maintain a registry of people convicted of methamphetamine-related crimes. 63 O.S. § 2-701. Anyone who is convicted of a crime based on a guilty or nolo contendere plea, who receives a suspended or deferred sentence, who is on parole or probation for these crimes will be on the registry. Crimes implicated include possession,...

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Overview of Federal Drug Crimes

Overview of Federal Drug Crimes

Similar to Oklahoma law, federal law prohibits the possession, sale, distribution, manufacture, and trafficking of drugs. When someone accused of a drug crime is charged under federal rather than state law, usually the alleged crime was committed on federal land (such as airports) or it took place in multiple states. Federal drug laws differ from Oklahoma drug laws because of the different penalties, different classifications of drugs, and sometimes, different elements of the crime. Congress passed the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, the main federal law prohibiting drug crimes, in 1970. It is also known as the Controlled Substances...

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How Cops Find Drugs During Traffic Stops

How Cops Find Drugs During Traffic Stops

A person pulled over for suspected DUI or another driving offense may find himself in more trouble if police search the vehicle. If law enforcement finds evidence of another crime, such as illegal drugs, in the vehicle, they can charge you with that crime too. A simple traffic infraction could escalate to much more serious criminal charges. Usually, police need a warrant to search cars. During traffic stops, however, they can search vehicles without a warrant for several reasons. First, police may search a vehicle incident to a driver’s arrest. Often this type of search is legally permitted because police reasonably...

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Can the Court Require Rehab for a Drug Crime?

Can the Court Require Rehab for a Drug Crime?

In Oklahoma, rehab has become a common part of a criminal sentence for a drug-related crime. Courts often specifically require people to complete a drug and alcohol assessment, called an ADSAC assessment, and then complete a state-licensed rehab program. Further, rehab is frequently part of first-time offender diversion programs such as conditional discharge. Those convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol usually receive sentences that include completion of an Alcohol and Drug Substance Abuse Course (ADSAC), which includes some type of treatment program depending on the ADSAC assessment’s findings. The ADSAC program helps people whose driver’s licenses were...

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Sentence Enhancements for Drug Crimes Involving Children

Sentence Enhancements for Drug Crimes Involving Children

In Oklahoma, committing drug crimes that involve children leads to increased jail time and penalties. Specifically, the criminal sentence for the underlying crime will be doubled or tripled, with other restrictions imposed. This is known as a sentence enhancement. Drug court judges may impose sentence enhancements for people who use minors to distribute or transport drugs, for people who distribute drugs near schools, and for people who possess or buy drugs near schools or in the presence of young children. The enhancements emphasize the state’s focus on keeping drugs away from children under age 18 – both for safety reasons and...

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