Drug Charges

While often a non-violent crime, being convicted of drug charges in Iowa can still carry major repercussions, including a criminal record even where none existed before. A conviction regarding charges of felony or misdemeanor possession can follow an individual for...

Federal drug charges can carry significant sentences. Depending on the amount of drugs allegedly involved, it does not take a great number of charges to create a very real potential for a sentence of life in prison. Even if the sentence is not explicitly life, a...

Many courthouses have a statue of Justice holding scales, often with an inscription to the effect of "Equal Justice under Law." This represents the ideal that many assume is the norm in this country. But in many cases and many instances, justice is not always been...

Drug charges can lead to serious and sometimes lifelong sentences in an Iowa state prison or the federal prison system. These long sentences can be seen as the result of years of legislature enactments and amendments to increase the punishment available to...

Drugs can be insidious in creeping into a person's life. They may find they are addicted before they even recognize the risk. The recent epidemic of opioid deaths from overdoses is in part driven by people who begin with some form of prescription painkillers. Once...

Use of marijuana is still illegal in Iowa. In spite of a growing trend of some states to permit marijuana for medical use and a few allowing recreational use, Iowa still has some of the most restrictive marijuana laws in the nation. Marijuana is only permitted for...

When someone is charged with a crime, one question that is not always obvious is "What crime are the charged with?" Take, for instance, the recent arrest of the Mayor of Fairfax, Virginia. He was involved with a transaction at a hotel where he gave methamphetamine to...

"[P]utting cocaine back in Coca-Cola." Such a reference was bound to crop up regarding an official platform position announced recently by the Iowa Democratic Party, and party principals have been quick to address it and put things into a proper context. "No one is...

The winds of change are blowing, with their power being firmly in evidence in the realm of criminal justice reforms. Indeed, the thrust for reform -- especially in the area of federal criminal law sentencing and in the federal context -- is manifest and growing. That...

Drug policy in the U.S. is sometimes confusing. Drugs can be assigned to the various schedules of the federal drug classification depending on the whim of members of congress. Drug classification may not always make sense, with both Marijuana and Heroin being...