Practice area
Drug charges defense
Colorado treats possession and distribution as different animals. Quantity, packaging and a single text message decide which one you are facing.
Level 2 drug misdemeanor up to a level 1 drug felony
What a drug charges case actually involves
Since the 2013 restructure, Colorado drug offenses sit on their own ladder of drug felonies and drug misdemeanors with their own sentencing statute. The practical consequence is that the line between a level 1 drug misdemeanor and a level 4 drug felony can be a couple of grams, and the line between possession and possession with intent can be a scale, a stack of small bags, or a screenshot.
The statute also builds in a way out. A level 4 drug felony converts to a level 1 drug misdemeanor on successful completion of probation or a deferred judgment under C.R.S. 18-1.3-103.5. Getting a client onto that path early, before a plea is entered, is often the whole job.
The other half is the search. Drug cases are made on car stops, consent, dog sniffs and warrants drafted at two in the morning. Those are all attackable, and a granted motion to suppress in a possession case usually ends it.
The counts that get filed
| Count | Level | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Possession, schedule I or II | Level 1 drug misdemeanor | Up to 4 grams. Above that it becomes a level 4 drug felony. |
| Possession with intent to distribute | Level 3 or 4 drug felony | Intent is inferred from quantity, packaging, scales, cash and messages. |
| Distribution | Level 1 to 4 drug felony | The level tracks the quantity band and the schedule. |
| Manufacture | Level 1 or 2 drug felony | Includes cultivation and extraction offenses. |
| Marijuana over the legal limit | Level 1 drug misdemeanor and up | Legal possession has limits. Over six ounces, or unlicensed sale, is still a crime. |
| Prescription fraud | Level 4 drug felony | Obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, forgery or doctor shopping. |
Where these cases break
Not every one applies to every file. The first job is working out which two or three do.
The search
Consent that was not voluntary, a dog sniff that extended the stop, a protective sweep that became a search, a warrant affidavit built on stale or uncorroborated information.
Possession itself
Constructive possession requires knowledge and control. Being in a car or a room with something is not the same as possessing it.
Intent
Quantity alone rarely proves intent to distribute. Personal use quantities, tolerance and the absence of distribution indicia matter.
The lab
Presumptive field tests are not confirmatory. Confirmatory testing, the analyst's chain of custody and the weight including or excluding packaging are all fair game.
Informants
A confidential informant's reliability history, payment and pending cases are discoverable and often devastating.
Treatment as an outcome
Where the evidence holds, the argument shifts to a deferred judgment with treatment rather than a conviction.
What happens, and when
Week one
Bond conditions reviewed; testing and treatment started voluntarily where it helps.
Weeks two to six
Full discovery including lab packets, warrant affidavits and any informant material.
Months two to four
Motion to suppress, litigated with the officer on the stand.
Months three to six
Deferred judgment negotiation, or trial preparation if the search holds.
The attorneys on these cases
Priya Raghunathan
Partner, federal practice
Formerly: Assistant United States Attorney, District of Colorado
Federal cases are decided in the presentence report far more often than in the courtroom.
Elena Vargas-Ortiz
Partner, DUI and DMV practice
Formerly: Deputy District Attorney, Eighteenth Judicial District
A breath number is a machine reading. Machines have maintenance records, and maintenance records have gaps.
What people ask us about this
If your question is not here, ask it on the call. There is no charge for the first conversation and it is with an attorney.
Start a case reviewNo. You enter a plea that is held without a judgment entering. Complete the conditions and the case is dismissed, which also makes it far easier to seal later. Fail them and the plea becomes a conviction with no trial.
Not necessarily. The state has to prove you knew about it and had control over it. Where several people had access and nothing ties the item to you specifically, that is a real fight.
Only within the limits. Adult use has quantity caps, licensing rules and a public consumption prohibition. Old convictions for conduct that is now lawful have a separate sealing route under C.R.S. 24-72-704.
It can. Nursing, teaching, commercial driving, real estate and firearms rights all have their own consequences. We map those before agreeing to any disposition, not after.
If any of this is happening to you, the first conversation is free and it is with an attorney.
Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.