Prince William County Drug Enforcement

Behaviors prohibited by drug laws in Prince William County include any interaction with a drug that is not prescribed or is not a legal substance. Possession, distribution, manufacturing, and anything that a person does not have a prescription for or that is otherwise an illegal substance are going to be illegal behaviors in Prince William County.

Someone facing a drug-related offense should consult with a Prince William County drug lawyer to ensure a strong defense is built on their behalf. An experienced drug attorney will be able to explain the common drug charges in Prince William County and help to mitigate the damage of the offense as much as they can.

Common Offenses

In Prince William County, a common drug charge is a marijuana possession. There are also often distribution charges for not only marijuana, but for more serious felony drugs like cocaine. There has been an increase in meth and heroin possession in recent years.

The range of drug charges seen can be anything from a misdemeanor offense to a felony offense, depending on what the offense is, what the type of substances are, and what the person was accused of doing with the substance.

Law Enforcement Treatment

There has been a general trend to treat people harshly when it comes to the common drug crimes in Prince William County. Violators are the same people who are buying prescription drugs without valid prescriptions or even writing false prescriptions.

Those people are a special target of the Prince William County police force, especially in situations where there is a ring leader working with smaller operatives. There is generally a lot of cooperation in these instances.

Local Considerations

Prince William County is a rural area. As a result, a lot of drugs and drug possession charges are typically associated with rural counties, where open space is needed to manufacture and there is no proximity of police presence. In many parts of Prince William County, this is why these drugs are more common there rather than some of the drugs that are more common in dense cities or urban areas, where many people will have less time manufacturing.

Although it does have some areas that are more urban, those areas have the easier, smaller packaging of the drugs. Sometimes, there are similar urban drug crime patterns, however, for the most part, Prince William County is more of a rural area, so typical rural drugs, including meth, marijuana, and heroin, are more common.

Penalties

Drug charges are intimidating to face anywhere in the state of Virginia, but especially in Prince William County. The judges are known to be harsh on drug offenses, the prosecutors are not lenient. They often do not allow for diversionary programs or second chance programs even for more simple drug possession cases.

They are dealing with the harsh letter of the law in Virginia, which is strict against drugs. A person could potentially be facing jail time even for simple possession cases. In other counties, a person may get another chance or go into a diversion program, but in Prince William County that would not likely be available.