Los Angeles DUI Lawyer Blog
A possession of drugs for sale charge is regulated by California Health and Safety Code §11351. The section makes it unlawful for anyone to possess for sale, or purchase for sale any type of controlled substance or narcotic. These include the popular PCP, Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetaminessand certain depressants and opiates. Possession for marijuana sales is regulated by California Health and Safety Code §11359.
To find someone guilty of possession of drugs for sale, Prosecution must prove that there was an intent to sell. An intent is generally proven through the Totality of Circumstances method.sIn a Totality of Circumstances test, facts and circumstances of a specific case are used to show that a person had the intent to sell any drugs in their possession.
For example, let’s say that a person is caught with a small bag of heroin in his pocket and nothing else. There are not enough facts to prove that there was any intention to sell the heroin. The person will probably only be charged with Possession of Drugs.s
In contrast, consider this scenario: A person is caught with thirty baggies of cocaine. Each bag contains a carefully measured amount that is the same in each bag. Nearby there is a scale and wads of cash. The circumstances point towards there being a strong intent to sell. In this situation, the person has a probability of being charged with Possession for sale. The equally measured bags imply that they were going to be sold to customers, and the scale indicates that the person charged was measuring each bag so that they sold the right amount to each person.sProsecution will be able to show, using the facts, that the person charged probably intended to sell the drugs.
The totality of circumstances test is subjective, and therefore open to interpretation and argument. An experienced Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorney has handled thousands of cases of Drug possession. They have the knowledge to prepare a powerful argument and present the facts in a light most favorable to your case. If prosecution cannot use the facts to show there was a clear intent to sell, then the case is likely to get reduced or dismissed.