Drug crimes carry serious consequences. If you are caught with a controlled substance, you may be charged. And one of the crimes you may be charged with is possession with intent to distribute.
So, what does it mean? Here is what you need to know:
What is possession with intent to distribute?
This crime has two elements: “possession” and “intent to distribute.” Possession means you have the drugs, or they are within your control. Therefore, you may not have the drugs on you, but the police can still conclude you possess drugs, if they are in your control. However, you may need to know they are within your area.
For example, if you knew drugs were in your home, you may be accused of possession. But if you didn’t, you may not be accused of it.
Intent to distribute is planning to sell or distribute the drugs, with or without any financial gain. While proving possession is more straightforward, as all the police have to do is find the drugs, proving intent to distribute can be challenging unless the police officer saw the defendant sell the drugs. For this reason, the circumstances surrounding the possession are used.
For example, if the police find packaging materials and large sums of money in a home with drugs, they may conclude there was intent to distribute.
Can you defend possession with intent to distribute?
You can defend the possession with intent to distribute crime using different defense strategies, including lack of knowledge and undue influence. This charge can be complicated, but it’s possible to fight it.
If you are charged with this drug crime, it can help to learn more about your case to determine the best defenses.