Los Angeles Drug Manufacturing Defense Lawyer
What is Drug Manufacturing?
“Drug manufacturing” refers to illegally producing drugs, narcotics, or controlled substances in an unregulated setting for commercial distribution. With recent increases in the popularity of drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy, California is cracking down on local drug manufacturing operations, including sophisticated drug laboratories as well as home-based operations. The State is aggressively prosecuting and shutting down these operations, in part because the use of reactive chemicals in the drug manufacturing process poses a high risk of fire and explosions.
It is a felony offense in the State of California to manufacture, produce, compound or process a controlled substance, such as methamphetamines, LSD, heroin, cocaine, and MDMA. You can also be charged with a felony if you knowingly allow someone else to manufacture drugs on property you own.
If you or a loved one are facing drug manufacturing charges, you need an experienced Los Angeles drug manufacturing lawyer to fight for your interests. With over 30 years of criminal defense experience, the Law Offices of Adrian M. Baca can review the specifics of your case and identify the strongest defense to get your charges reduced or possibly dismissed.
Penalties for Drug Manufacturing in California
If you are convicted on drug manufacturing charges in California, you could be sentenced to up to seven years in state prison, at a minimum. You may also be subject to other serious penalties, such as substantial fines of up to $50,000, probation, mandatory drug rehabilitation or treatment, registration as a narcotics offender, loss of driving privileges or deportation (if you are not a U.S. citizen).
Additional factors could potentially increase your sentence. These include:
- The type of drug manufactured. You could face additional prison time for the production of methamphetamines, GHB or PCP.
- The amount of drugs manufactured. Additional years are typically added to a prison sentence depending on the volume or weight of drugs produced.
- Whether you have a prior criminal record (particularly other drug-related or felony offenses). You may be sentenced to an additional three years for each prior felony conviction involving the sale, transport, or possession of methamphetamines.
- Whether a minor under the age of 16 was involved in the production operation or lived at the location where the controlled substance was produced. You may receive an additional two years of prison time, or five years if the minor was injured as a result of drug manufacturing activities.
- If another person is injured or killed as a result of your drug manufacturing activities, an additional year could be added to your sentence.
Drug manufacturing is also a crime at the federal level. If you are prosecuted and convicted of federal drug charges, the penalties could be even more severe.
Defenses to Drug Manufacturing Charges
To convict you on drug manufacturing charges, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you engaged in drug manufacturing activities willingly with the knowledge that you were illegally producing a controlled substance. If the prosecutor cannot make this case, you are not guilty of drug manufacturing.
Common defenses that an attorney can use to raise questions about the State’s case against you include:
- You may have purchased drug manufacturing supplies (including the chemicals or materials needed to produce the drug), but you had not actually engaged in drug production. The State of California treats these two types of activities differently.
- You were present at the time of arrest but were not involved in the drug manufacturing operations.
- You were not aware that drug production was occurring on your property.
- The controlled substances were manufactured for your personal use.
- You were falsely accused or mistakenly identified.
- The evidence against you is inadmissible in court because the drugs, production equipment, or lab location were discovered as a result of an illegal search and seizure of your property.
Contact a Los Angeles Drug Manufacturing Defense Lawyer for Representation
Drug manufacturing charges are very serious. At the Law Offices of Adrian M. Baca, we explore every angle in order to formulate a defense that will create reasonable doubt and expose the flaws in the State’s case against you or your loved one. Our firm has extensive experience representing clients against serious drug charges, and we will leverage that experience to get you the best possible outcome in your case. Contact us today for a free consultation.