{"id":25901,"date":"2024-04-02T09:50:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T09:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/?p=25901"},"modified":"2024-04-02T09:53:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T09:53:09","slug":"is-trafficking-felony-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/news\/is-trafficking-felony-california\/","title":{"rendered":"CA Drug Trafficking Laws: The Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-25902\" src=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Is-trafficking-a-felony-in-California.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Is-trafficking-a-felony-in-California.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Is-trafficking-a-felony-in-California-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Is-trafficking-a-felony-in-California-768x479.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>By definition, drug trafficking refers to buying, selling, transporting, furnishing, giving away, or in any other way distributing or moving controlled substances. Trafficking can be an individual or collective effort (i.e. organized by criminal groups), conducted by any means (i.e. by car, on foot, etc.), with the end goal typically being profiting off the sales.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/drugs\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being accused of trafficking or other drug-related crimes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a grave matter and defending against allegations will require an excellent San Diego drug crimes lawyer with an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, for the reasons listed below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is trafficking a felony in California?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In general, yes, drug trafficking is considered a felony offense not only in California but throughout the US. Federal laws, as well as the laws of individual states, classify trafficking as a serious crime. The primary reason behind such an unfavorable view is simple, realistic, and logical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drugs pose an extreme danger to public health and safety both directly, by causing addiction and death, and indirectly, by fueling criminal activity and violence. As such, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/what-laws-cocaine-crack-hs-code-california\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drug trafficking and related offenses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/what-amount-drugs-considered-trafficking-california\/\">subject to the most rigorous penalties<\/a>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.monderlaw.com\/\/news\/penalty-sentence-cocaine-crack-crime-california-ca\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reflecting the severe nature of these crimes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the statute for trafficking in California?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In California, there\u2019s no one unified law governing all trafficking-related crimes. Rather, they fall under various statutes, including the Health and Safety Code (HSC) and Penal Code (PC), the most relevant ones being:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HSC \u00a711352 strictly prohibits the transportation, sale, importation, or furnishing of controlled substances;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HSC \u00a711351 deals in possession of drugs with the intent to sell, which can include moving them from one location to another;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">HSC \u00a711379.6 explicitly prohibits the manufacturing of drugs but, also, any knowing participation in the process, including supplying (delivering) raw materials (\u201cbase\u201d);<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PC \u00a7182 is a bit more broad, as it addresses the so-called \u201ccriminal conspiracy\u201d. Nevertheless, it can be applied in the case of trafficking, specifically in cases where said offense is an organized group activity.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It must be noted that drug trafficking is also illegal on a federal level. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/21\/841\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">21 U.S.C. \u00a7841<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> states that it is \u201cunlawful for any person [to] knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the person (trafficker) is charged under federal or state law depends on the specific circumstances. For instance, if the trafficking remains confined to California borders (i.e. drugs do not cross state lines), the state law will apply in most cases.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, if illegal substances do cross state or national borders, federal laws will apply in every case, and these statutes define penalties that are much more severe than their California-specific counterparts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the difference between drug smuggling and drug trafficking?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While they may appear the same, trafficking and smuggling are two different activities, both from the standpoint of execution and how they\u2019re treated by relevant laws. The main differences are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drug smuggling refers to the clandestine importation or exportation of illegal substances across state or national borders. Elaborate concealment strategies are often employed to avoid interception by authorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drug trafficking encompasses a broader range of activities, including moving, selling, and otherwise distributing illegal substances, typically (but not necessarily) limited to a particular area (e.g. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mission_Valley,_San_Diego\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mission Valley<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), region (e.g. San Diego County), or state (e.g. California).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With this in mind, we can say that smuggling is an integral component of trafficking. In many cases, smuggling is a precursor to trafficking, as the majority of drugs aren\u2019t actually produced in the US but, rather, need to be (illegally) imported into the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who\u2019s the leading San Diego drug crimes lawyer near me?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re facing drug trafficking charges, you\u2019ll need a legal team that knows California criminal laws by heart and that\u2019s ready to use it all to build you the most robust defense possible. In San Diego, that team is Monder Criminal Lawyer Group.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our specialists excel in various aspects of criminal defense, as is evidenced by our reputation for excellence and thousands of successful cases. We tailor our strategies to your unique circumstances, providing knowledgeable guidance every step of the way, and working tirelessly to protect your rights. Schedule your appointment today!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By definition, drug trafficking refers to buying, selling, transporting, furnishing, giving away, or in any other way distributing or moving controlled substances. Trafficking can be an individual or collective effort (i.e. organized by criminal groups), conducted by any means (i.e. by car, on foot, etc.), with the end goal typically being profiting off the sales. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25902,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Drug Trafficking Laws in California Explained | San Diego Drug Crimes Lawyer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How does the state of California view drug trafficking &amp; what\u2019s the difference between trafficking &amp; smuggling? 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