Drug Charges Lawyer Shasta County: Possession, Sales and Prop 36

What a Drug Charges Lawyer Shasta County Clients Hire Looks At First

The first question in a drug case is usually not what the substance was. It is how the police found it. A stop, a search, or a statement obtained unlawfully can be challenged in court, and if the evidence is suppressed, the prosecution may have little left to stand on.

The second question is whose drugs they were. Drugs found in a shared car, a shared room, or a bag several people used raise a real question about who possessed them, and the police report’s answer to that question is not the only possible one.

The third question is intent. Possession and possession for sale are different charges with very different exposure, and the line between them is usually drawn by inference: quantity, packaging, cash, scales, messages on a phone. Inference can be contested.

The fourth is the record. Since December 2024, prior drug convictions can change what a new possession charge is, which makes the history as important as the facts of the arrest. For how a case moves from arrest to filing, see what happens after an arrest.

What Do Health and Safety Code Sections 11350 and 11377 Charge?

Both sections make it a crime to possess a controlled substance without a prescription. Section 11350 covers narcotics such as heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, and oxycodone. Section 11377 covers other listed substances, including methamphetamine. For most people, both are misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in county jail.

That misdemeanor structure comes from Proposition 47, which amended both sections on November 4, 2014. The exception is narrow. A person with a prior conviction for one of the serious offenses listed in Penal Code section 667(e)(2)(C)(iv), or for an offense requiring sex offender registration, faces felony sentencing under Penal Code section 1170(h).

Both sections also recognize a prescription defense in two forms: possession under a valid prescription, and possession of another person’s prescription at that person’s direction, where the only purpose is to deliver it to them or to dispose of it lawfully.

What Changes When the Charge Is Possession for Sale?

Possession for sale is a felony. Section 11351, which covers narcotics such as heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl, carries two, three, or four years. Section 11378, which covers methamphetamine and similar substances, carries 16 months, two years, or three years. Both terms are served under Penal Code section 1170(h).

Sale is rarely proved by a witness to a sale. It is proved by inference from what was found: quantity, packaging, scales, cash, messages. Each of those can have an explanation that has nothing to do with selling, and a jury is entitled to hear it.

Past results do not predict future outcomes. Every case depends on its own facts and circumstances.

How Did Proposition 36 Change Drug Possession in 2024?

Proposition 36, approved by voters on November 5, 2024 and effective December 18, 2024, added Health and Safety Code section 11395, the Treatment-Mandated Felony Act. It allows possession of a hard drug to be charged as a felony when the person has two or more prior convictions for specified drug offenses.

The statute defines a hard drug to include fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, and phencyclidine, along with their analogs. It excludes cannabis, LSD, psilocybin, and other psychedelics. The qualifying priors include convictions under sections 11350, 11351, 11377, and 11378, among others, whether they were felonies or misdemeanors, and even if they occurred before the new law took effect.

The name describes the structure. A person charged under section 11395 can elect treatment by pleading guilty or no contest, admitting the priors, and agreeing to complete a detailed, court-approved treatment program. Completing it leads to dismissal, and the statute provides that the arrest is then deemed never to have occurred. Doing poorly in the program, refusing treatment, or picking up a new conviction can lead to sentencing. A jail or prison sentence under the section requires a court finding that the person is not eligible or suitable for treatment, or another circumstance the statute lists.

Two details matter for the defense. The prior convictions must be alleged in the charging document and either admitted or found true, so the prior record is itself something to examine. And if the person takes part in the court-ordered substance abuse and mental health evaluation interview, neither the interview nor evidence derived from it can be used against them at trial on that charge, except to impeach testimony that is inconsistent with it.

Where Does Cannabis Fit Under Sections 11359 and 11360?

Cannabis offenses were rewritten by Proposition 64 in 2016, but possession for sale and selling or transporting for sale without legal authorization are still crimes. For a person 18 or older, sections 11359 and 11360 generally make them misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.

Both can be sentenced as felonies under Penal Code section 1170(h) in defined circumstances: certain serious prior convictions or a registrable sex offense, two or more prior convictions under the same misdemeanor subdivision, or conduct involving a minor. Section 11360 adds bringing more than 28.5 grams of cannabis, or more than four grams of concentrated cannabis, into California, or transporting that amount out of the state for sale. Section 11359 adds a person 21 or older hiring or using someone 20 or younger in the trade.

Giving away or transporting not more than 28.5 grams, other than concentrated cannabis, is an infraction under section 11360(b), with a fine of up to $100. For section 11360, transport means transport for sale.

Can a Drug Case Be Resolved Through Penal Code 1000 Diversion?

It can be, when the eligibility rules are met. Penal Code section 1000 provides pretrial diversion for possession under sections 11350 and 11377, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and several related offenses. The defendant pleads not guilty, completes a program, and after 12 to 18 months the charges are dismissed.

Eligibility is set by the statute. Within the five years before the offense, there can be no conviction for a drug offense outside the listed group and no felony conviction. The charged offense cannot involve violence or threatened violence, and there can be no evidence of a contemporaneous narcotics violation outside the listed offenses. The prosecutor reviews the file and states on the record whether the defendant is eligible.

Under section 1000.1, participation is not a conviction or an admission of guilt for any purpose, and statements made to probation or program staff during the eligibility investigation cannot be used later. The trade is procedural: the defendant waives the right to a speedy trial, a speedy preliminary hearing, and a jury trial while the program runs. Under section 1000.3, if the program is not going well, diversion can be terminated and the case goes back on track.

Section 1000 diversion and the section 11395 treatment option are different paths. Section 1000 is for people without the disqualifying record, while section 11395 applies precisely because a person has two or more drug priors. Sales charges under sections 11351 and 11378 are not on the section 1000 list.

Was the Search Legal?

In many drug cases, this is the question that decides the case. Penal Code section 1538.5 lets a defendant move to suppress evidence from a search or seizure that was unreasonable without a warrant, or from a warrant that was insufficient on its face, lacked probable cause, or was executed unconstitutionally.

The motion is not a formality. It must be in writing, list the specific evidence to be suppressed, and set out the facts and the law. That means the record has to be built for it: the reason for the stop, how long it lasted, whether there was consent and what it covered, and what a warrant actually authorized. Much of that sits in body camera video, dispatch logs, and third-party footage that exists only for a limited time.

Consent deserves its own mention, because it is where many searches begin. Jacob Levin’s advice after an arrest is simple: calmly say you do not consent to any searches, do not argue, and do not physically resist. His full reasoning is in the first step after an arrest or charge.

Jacob Levin interned in the San Francisco and Shasta County District Attorney’s offices, where his work included drug cases. For the rest of his background, see about Jacob Levin, and for outcomes in other matters, case results.