This means that you could face felony drug charges for receiving an amount of marijuana or marijuana products that might have only added up to a misdemeanor if you were caught with it locally. On Dec. 22 last year, the District Court dismissed without prejudice, the drug case against Mel Katrina Wells because the government failed to prove probable cause as to her knowledge that the parcel she picked up at the Post Office had drugs 3 pounds of methamphetamine inside the package. Phone surveys conducted by Gallup found a . USPS actively encourages workers and the public to get involved in the identification of packages containing drugs by offering $50,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of a drug trafficker. Mailing Drug Packages: Drug Trafficking. You can extract it from federally-legal hemp plants, so you should be able to ship it anywhere in the country, right? Posted on Feb 15, 2012. If you are planning on sending gifts for a holiday, or just items to a friend or family member, it is common to use this method. Although she did not wish to be named due to safety reasons, thenews reportindicated that a local woman and her husband opened their Amazon shipping bins to find 65 pounds of marijuana. In 2019, the USPS processed almost 55,000 packages they suspected of containing marijuana. In fiscal year 2011, the most recent reported, the Postal Inspection Service reported 1,327 arrests and 1,102 convictions in drug cases nationwide. The communication between us was Judith came recommended to me by a number of individuals who had been represented by her with a range of legal matters. Ultimately, can beggars be choosers? Receiving illegal drugs through the mail is clearly a crime but only if there is proof it was done knowingly and intentionally, legal experts say. The shipping bins were sent from the Amazon shipping facility in Massachusetts. Disclaimer: The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. People do forget or run out of their prescription medication while away from home all the time. It requires knowledge or intent. 822 covers this registration process with the Attorney General in detail. "Just receiving a package without knowing its contents isn't sufficient to be convicted of a crime.". Be it prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs when such mail is identified, and it will be seized and destroyed. If you possess more than 30g, while still a misdemeanor, you can be sentenced . For a conviction, the courts require other evidence, such as statements from a witness, payments, email or other correspondence showing the recipient anticipated the arrival of the illegal drugs. Mens Rea is a latin term for guilty mind. Without reported data, its impossible to estimate how many packages found to contain marijuana or other scheduled substances have been cited to open investigations. It is 5 years. To meet your needs, I provide 24 hour service, off-site appointments, and a free initial consultation. Does Domestic Violence Charges Affect Gun Ownership? She reassured me throughout Judith responded right away as I reached out to her. If you or a loved one have been accused of a drug trafficking crime, you may be in need of a drug defense attorney in Florida. As one of the countrys oldest law enforcement agencies, they work to identify and prosecute major drug mailers and intercept illegal drug proceeds that traffickers attempt to send through the mail. Remember, the act is an illegal one and, without a doubt, carries a significant level of risk. Home Blog What to Do When Busted For Receiving Drugs in the Mail. If the recipient was aware of that the package contained illicit substances, then they are considered just as guilty as the person who mailed it. Common examples of such drugs are mild pain-relief medicines and skin creams. Through a Motion to Suppress, a judge could rule that evidence seized without probable is inadmissible. However, unlike the risk of arrest for buying drugs in person, receiving drug through the mail comes with higher penalties. The threat of prosecution decreases if a package is not detected. Colin Miller, an associate law professor at the University of South Carolina who edited the latest edition of Illinois Criminal Procedure, said most courts, including those in Illinois, uphold the use of an "anticipatory" warrant, whose execution is triggered by an anticipated action that suggests criminal activity, such as the acceptance of a package containing marijuana. You are not supposed to mail a loved one medication that they left at your house over the holidays. Even CBD and delta-8 vapes are prohibited, though CBD and delta-8 edibles and concentrates that comply with federal and state regulations are allowed. Who is qualified to decide that? In fact, in 2016 the USPS founded the Administrative Non-Mailability Protocol (ANP) program, which does not require postal inspectors to obtain search warrants to open detained packages. In fact, if a package is detained and they dont receive a response form the mailer or addressee in 21 days, the package is considered abandoned and they can open it anyway. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the post office, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration use a drug packaging profile to identify suspicious-looking parcels in the mail. The letter will also invite the addressee to write and challenge Customs' right to dispose of the package. 29AUBURN An Auburn man was arrested Friday afternoon after receiving a package containing more than $3 million worth of fentanyl he had mailed to himself at a local restaurant, according to police. The only way around this is to register as an eligible entity approved by the DEA. This button displays the currently selected search type. what happens if you get caught posting yourself drugs, what happens if you get caught buying drugs online. Addiction Help The mission of the Inspection Service is protecting the American people and the U.S. Mail from illicit drug activity. link to How do I get my license back after suspension in Texas? These penalties can vary, but because shipping drugs through the mail system is such a rampant crime, they typically like to make an example of those they catch. The black market, even in adult-use states, continues to thrive, so many might find mailing weed a lucrative endeavor. They all also specify that shipping any form of marijuana remains illegal and unacceptable. When you drop your package off at the FedEx or UPS store to be mailed, youre putting the property into the possession of a third party, and the Supreme Court has ruled that giving your package to a third party removes any reasonable expectation of privacy. We should note that none of these couriers policies explicitly address delta-8 products. This automatically elevates your drug crime to a federal drug crime. * Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In contrast to these policies, the US Postal Service seems like the preferred carrier for many drug shippers because it offers more stringent Fourth Amendment protection. She is very hardworking, honest, and always willing to take a call to answer questions or address concerns. Possession of a controlled substance of list 1 chemicals has some exceptions to the requirement to register with the DEA such as the following: To make matters more subjective, the Attorney General, by regulation may waive registration for certain manufacturers, distributors, or dispensers if it is consistent with public health and safety. But some states have passed their own laws against shipping and selling it, likely because its products do not have to be tested and regulated like delta-9 THC. UPSlist of prohibited itemsincludes marijuana, vape products, and any other substance prohibited under the law. When you involve the United States Postal Service in the transaction, it makes the matter a federal offense. In another case, three women from Norfolk and a man and woman from Arizona are accused of bringing meth and fentanyl pills into Hampton Roads through the mail from Arizona. "Australia Post does not have, for example, sniffer dogs, X-ray machines or explosive trace detectors," the spokesperson said. If you have been busted for receiving drugs in the mail, you can look forward to some unpleasant levels of punishment for it. Your lawyer can challenge search warrants, evidence handling, and crime lab procedures. Yes. This means that it is not a strict liability crime. Then, an unidentified male contacted the post office concerning the refused parcel and requested re-delivery of the package. ", Instead of an army of sniffer dogs, international Customs operations use "risk matrixes" that raise red flags about certain packages. I got a DUI back in January, after a New Years Eve party, and was really distraught about what it would do to my record and my reputation. Thorough and effective in preparation and in the courtroom, compassionate and responsive with us as clients. There are in fact cases where someone has received drugs in the mail by mistake. Carrier or warehouseman possessing in the usual course of employment. Leaving the Scene of a Single Car Accident in Texas, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle Texas. He was a moderator on the Silk Road discussion forums, which were associated with but separate from the original Silk Road. What happens if the drugs do not belong to you? The woman claimed that they felt something wasnt right when they received the order, that the containers had an extremely strong odor and were much heavier than they should have been. He takes a similar view that law enforcement resources are largely too stretched to pursue small drug seizures delivered by mail. Mercier was arrested after the owners of . Most of the time, though, he assumed prosecutions rarely resulted from interceptions of small quantities. And both federal and state laws will apply to your drug trafficking charges. I dont know the answer. For one Florida woman, she received an unexpected delivery after ordering shipping bins on Amazon. The USPS tells Leafly that the anti e-cig law will apply to the entire vaping industry. I was arrested for visiting an escort, facing solicitation/prostitution charges. Our office is located in downtown Minneapolis in the Flour Exchange Building. Getting accused of having drugs on your person is no small issue. Authorities said they discovered three pounds of meth inside the package. They said the goal is achieved by prohibiting mail containing illegal items, investigating criminal activity and dismantling the dark web, which allows drug dealers to sell their goods through an internet connection. MAJOR RESULTATE (total weights): Methylamphetamine 40.6kg Cannabis 25.3kg Drug 13.5kg Heroin 2.2kg MDMA (Ecstasy) 855g Steroids 507g Additional Seizures: Cash $61,150 AN (dead) Scorpion Two spiders Various juices, tablets and capsules still till be identified Numbers of drug seizures by federal ACTING - 29 NSW - 21 NT - 89 QLD - 381 SA - 35 GRIFFIN received a 20-year federal sentence, and must serve 10 years of Supervised Release, which is the statutory maximum penalty that could be imposed by the Court.

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