Drug Crimes

September 23, 2016

A Review of Designer Drug Laws in Illinois

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Local agencies in Illinois are getting concerned about the increasing use of designer drugs, particularly as it relates to driving offenses. Incidents of bizarre behavior that is clearly out of the ordinary are being reported regularly. It is almost as if there is something in the water but the truth is much simpler; drugs are to blame and the law enforcement agencies are of the view that it is about time someone did something about it. The clinicians call it Alpha-PVP while the street-smart call it Flakka. Although this is a relatively new drug, it is noted for its highly addictive qualities. Some have compared it to Bath Salts, but it is much worse. Dozens of overdose deaths are being reported or suspected, and the strange behavior that it induces in its fans includes running around the streets in the nude.

Worse still, Flakka is a combination and co-dependency drug which is preferred by those that are already heavily addicted. The challenge for the law is whether to deal with production, consumption, or distribution or all of them together; the latter being a complex and resource-heavy task. To make matters worse the designer drug trade is based on the ability to create permutations and versions of the same drug using various combinations of the active ingredients. Consequently these research drugs are outside the current specifications of the law and yet they are as dangerous (or even more dangerous) than their parent counterparts. The shipping trail starts all the way to Asia before making its clandestine journey all the way to Illinois. A lot of disguise and misrepresentation is involved since the narcotics and stimulants are disguised as legal products, hence evading the legal controls.

Should the Federal or Local Government Crack Down?

June 10, 2016

Predictive Policing in Chicago: Curbing Violent Crime Intelligently

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

At first blush, the idea of predictive policing sounds a lot like something out of the movie Minority Report. In order to target their policing efforts, the Chicago Police Department uses a high-tech database of persons, which it refers to as the Strategic Subject List, who are most likely to be shot or to shoot someone. With murder rate on the rise, up 50% from last year, and an ever-increasing number of shooting victims, the department has ramped up its raids and is actively using this database to prevent violent crime. In the first half of 2016, there were 1934 shooting victims and 326 homicide victims in Chicago. From January 1 to December 31 of 2015, these figures were 2988 and 490, respectively. See Chicago Tribune articles for more. Chicago homicides; Chicago shootings.

The “list” contains a list of persons who are most likely to be shot soon or to shoot someone based on a computer algorithm that calculates a score based on arrests, shootings, affiliations with gang members and other variables. It ranks each person based on their score; the higher one’s score, the higher the probability he or she may be a victim or perpetrator of gun violence. The algorithm does not use race, ethnicity, gender, or geography as a factor.

In the last two months, this list has helped the police crack down on deeply entrenched drug rings, particularly in Uptown and East Garfield Park. According to Chief Anthony Riccio, the head of the Department’s Organized Crime Division, the drug operations were run by local street gangs, and the proceeds from drug sales went to buying guns and funding other criminal acts by the gangs. In the last week of April, 70 people were arrested in East Garfield. Of the 70 people, 54 were charged with felony narcotics delivery or possession; nearly all of them – 49 out of 54 – were on the Department’s Strategic Subjects List. An additional 16 people were arrested in drug raids in Uptown during the same time period. Police targeted the drug rings that were selling heroin laced with fentanyl, which has been causing fatal overdoses in Chicago and its suburbs.

June 1, 2016

Inter-State Marijuana Shipments

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

The legalization of recreational marijuana in several states over the last few years has created a business opportunity that some people are finding difficult to resist. Non-commercial cultivators in states like Colorado that have legalized recreational marijuana have little legal regulation, and even less oversight, and with prices for their product being between 300% to 500% higher in states where the possession and use of marijuana for recreational purposes is still illegal, there is a huge incentive for these gray-area cultivators to export their crops across state lines.

Case Study

Illinois resident Ryan Bailey was arrested on January 7 by Chicago police after receiving a seven pound package of marijuana sent to him from a nonexistent shipping company in Aurora Colorado. Before moving to Chicago, Mr. Bailey had lived in Colorado, where he and his wife had run both a growing facility and dispensary where he got in legal trouble for running a much larger operation than was allowed without commercial permits. Prior to his January 7th arrest, Mr. Bailey was arrested previously when the Chicago police department raided his home in Northwest Chicago and found over 40 pounds of marijuana. In both cases the raids were set in motion by UPS employees who reported delivering packages that smelled strongly of marijuana.

December 23, 2015

Are You Being Charged with Possession or Delivery of Ecstasy in Chicago?

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Ecstasy, increasingly referred to as Molly, is the street name for the drug MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine). Whatever you call it, Ecstasy is a synthetic and psychoactive drug, with similarities to stimulants like amphetamine and with similarities to hallucinogens, like mescaline. Those who take it report experiencing euphoria, increased energy, warmth and empathy to others, and distorted time and sensory perception.

It is against the law in Illinois to be in possession of any amount of Ecstasy, as it has a high potential for abuse with no accepted medical use in Illinois, so it is classified as a Schedule 1 drug. Criminal penalties for the possession of Ecstasy are governed by the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, but possessing any amount of ecstasy at all is a felony.

Penalties for Possession of Ecstasy

December 16, 2015

Possession of Cocaine in Chicago

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

It is against the law in Illinois to possess any amount of cocaine at all. Cocaine, a stimulant derived from the coca plant, is classified as a Schedule I drug in Illinois. The penalties for the possession of cocaine are set out in the Illinois Controlled Substances Act at 720 ILCS 570/1 et seq.

Illinois Drug Schedule and Penalties

Illinois classifies illegal drugs into different categories, called schedules. The penalties for drug possession depend on which schedule the drug is classified in. There are five different schedules, with Schedule I being street drugs with the highest potential for abuse and Schedule V being prescription drugs with the lowest potential for abuse. Cocaine is classified as a Schedule I drug, which carries the harshest penalties given under Illinois law.

December 9, 2015

Chicago’s Heroin Epidemic and Overdose Crisis

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

In October of this year, there were more than 100 heroin overdoses in Chicago, including 74 in a 72 hour period. Police blame one batch of heroin that swept through Chicago’s West Side, which was laced with the drug fentanyl, a powerful painkiller. Most of the users who overdosed obtained the heroin from the same two sources, which is what led authorities to determine that a single batch was to blame for all of the overdoses. Those who overdosed failed to respond to Narcan, the drug used in emergency rooms throughout the United States to reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. Not until emergency room doctors doubled and tripled the Narcan amounts were they able to save the lives of the people who overdosed.

Chicago Police are Cracking Down on the Heroin Problem

Heroin use has been on the upswing in Cook County. Throughout the United States, heroin overdoses have quadrupled in the past ten years. Between 2007 and 2013, heroin use in the United States has doubled, and many experts believe no city has been harder hit than Chicago.

November 25, 2015

The Most Common Defenses to Drug Crimes

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Whether you are facing charges of possession of a controlled substance or illicit drug, or you have been charged with trafficking with the intent to sell or distribute illegal drugs, there are many legal defenses available to you. Depending on which, if any, is applicable, you can greatly reduce the severity of your sentence, especially if it is your first offense. Some of the key defenses are discussed here.

Denial of Ownership

Denying ownership is the common defense put forth in a drug crime and is often quite successful. You should not claim ownership of any drugs if you are searched or your premises are searched, or if you are in a place the police raid and drugs are found; instead you should exercise your right to remain silent and immediately contact an attorney.

November 13, 2015

The Heroin Crisis Act

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Illinois is ahead of much of the country on taking an innovative approach to dealing with heroin addiction with the passage of The Heroin Crisis Act (The Act). The Act follows the lead of the Chief of Police in Gloucester, MA, and instead of treating people charged with heroin possession as criminals, offers treatment for their addiction.

The Act increases funding for drug education, as well. It also establishes a prescription drug refund program and expands the coverage of rehabilitation programs to be included under Medicaid. The law requires all pharmacies to dispense an opioid overdose antidote like naloxone to drug users and their loved ones without discrimination, and firemen, police officers, and school nurses must now carry the drug and receive training on how to administer the drug in the appropriate manner. Naloxone is a drug that effectively reverses the effects of a heroin overdose and saves lives.

The Law

October 16, 2015

Changing Marijuana Laws in Illinois

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

Throughout the United States, a remarkable change of heart and mind about the use of marijuana is in progress, and Illinois has joined in, albeit with some resistance. There are currently 38 states with some type of medical marijuana program, 16 states that have decriminalized smaller amounts of marijuana possession, and two states that have legalized the recreational use of cannabis.

In 2016, two more states will legalize recreational marijuana, and Illinois is poised to join the 16 other states that have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana. As it now stands, however, marijuana possession remains a crime in the state of Illinois (even though the City of Chicago decriminalized marijuana on its own in 2012 and moved to a ticketing system). While the marijuana laws will most likely change in the near future, you still should be aware of the current laws governing possession of cannabis.

Marijuana Laws in Illinois

June 12, 2015

Chicago Drug Crimes Conviction Can Lead to Deportation

by Law Offices of David L. Freidberg, P.C.

If you are convicted of a Chicago drug crime, whether misdemeanor or felony, you face a lengthy prison sentence and hefty fines. If you are not an American citizen, whether an illegal immigrant or a lawful permanent resident, you also face the possibility of being deported.

Deportation for Drug Crimes Conviction

The United States federal code allows for the deportation of any alien convicted of conspiracy to violate, attempted violation or violation of a state controlled substance law (other than a single offense of possession of less than 30 grams of personal use marijuana) that relates to a federally banned substance. The federal code outlines specific substances that are considered controlled substances that could lead to deportation.

This is an important distinction in the law. State and federal law are not always in lock-step regarding what is considered a controlled substance. If an illegal immigrant is convicted of a drug crime under state law, and the controlled substance is not included under the federal controlled substance list, the illegal immigrant is not eligible for deportation.

The United States Supreme Court recently made another distinction under the law. In order to be a deportable offense, the underlying charge must specifically state the controlled substance banned under federal law. In Mellouli v. Lynch, the defendant was convicted of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. The paraphernalia in this case was a sock that contained four unnamed pills. Neither the initial charge nor the ultimate plea agreement made specific reference to the controlled substance that was in the defendant’s possession at the time of arrest.

The court ruled that in order to trigger the deportation law, it must be made clear at some point what federally banned controlled substance the defendant had in his possession. Laws must be taken at face value, meaning when the court is interpreting a vague or otherwise ambiguous law, it cannot consider what it thinks the drafters of the law meant. They may only be guided by the literal letter of the law.

Based on prior rulings, the court ruled that they must take the conviction at face value and could not be held responsible for looking into the underlying facts. Thus, police and forensic reports may have indicated what pills were in the defendant’s sock, and reading those reports would have allowed the court to check the federal controlled substance law to see if the drug was included. But that is the responsibility of the police and prosecutor, not the court. Without the substance named, the court ruled the defendant could not be deported.

In terms of defense of drug crimes, the case seemingly has little to no impact on the role of a criminal defense attorney. Yet the case is likely to make prosecutors look more closely at charging documents and plea agreements to ensure that all drug crimes cases are linked to federally banned substances, to ensure that the immigration department has an easier path to deportation, should it choose that option. In that sense, it makes it that much more important to retain the services of an experienced Chicago drug crimes attorney to help win an acquittal or dismissal of all charges, so that deportation is not an option.