When people think of drug trafficking, they often picture dramatic scenarios. Perhaps they mentally conjure images of a dramatic television show they enjoyed, or perhaps they will think of real-world cases, like the notorious Black Tuna Gang that used a fleet of vehicles to move huge amounts of drugs into the United States.
The average person associates drug trafficking with high-profile criminal organizations and large amounts of money. However, much drug trafficking is far more boring than those exciting expectations. Trafficking involves transporting, supplying or selling prohibited or controlled substances to others or helping support the distribution of such drugs.
You don’t necessarily need to make money from selling drugs to others for New Hampshire to pursue drug trafficking charges against you. There are at least two other, seemingly innocent situations that could lead to drug trafficking allegations under state or federal law.
Transporting drugs for someone else
Whether you take all of your leftover prescription medication to a friend living in Boston or come back from a weekend in Massachusetts with cannabis in your car, if you transport prohibited or controlled substances across state lines, that behavior may constitute trafficking.
Police officers will often look for any excuse to stop and search a suspicious vehicle in the hopes of finding drugs. Especially if a prosecutor can use the quantity or variety of the drugs involved to claim that they were not for personal use, traveling with drugs can lead to trafficking charges.
Giving medication or old drugs to someone else
Maybe you have achieved sobriety and stopped depending on controlled and prohibited substances. However, you still have a small stash. Although it may make sense to give it to a friend who you know will spend money on it otherwise, the act of transferring medications or drugs to someone else is trafficking even if you don’t accept money for the transfer.
Whether you give your leftover street drugs to a friend still struggling with their addiction or unused pain medication to a cousin who doesn’t have health insurance, you run the risk of facing serious criminal charges just because you wanted to help someone else out.
Learning more about the behaviors that may constitute drug trafficking under New Hampshire was can help you avoid criminal mistakes or plan a defense strategy.
