Mississippi has laws surrounding drug trafficking and drug possession, which are similar yet two different crimes. Trafficking is bringing an illegal substance across state lines or intending to bring the illegal substance across state lines.
Stricter penalties
Drug trafficking usually has stricter penalties than drug possession. It’s a felony in Mississippi. You could face 10–40 years in prison and a fine of $5,000–$1,000,000. Mississippi has a mandatory 10-year sentence and doesn’t allow probation or parole.
Amount of drugs
You could face trafficking drug charges for having a large amount of the substance on you. Many people mistakenly believe that drug trafficking is only sneaking drugs into another state or country, but that’s not the case. Even if you’re bringing your personal stash or you have a large amount in your possession, Mississippi could charge you with trafficking.
In the past, only 30 grams of an illegal drug would put you at risk of facing a drug trafficking charge. Mississippi increased this benchmark for marijuana in 2014.
Aggravated trafficking
If you possess over 200 grams of a Schedule I or II controlled substance, then Mississippi considers this aggravated trafficking. The minimum prison sentence for this charge is 25 years. Marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids are an exception to this law.
Sentence mitigation
Sentence mitigation of up to 25% is possible in Mississippi. It’s important that you didn’t use violence or a weapon during the crime to get a sentence mitigation. The court also checks that your offense didn’t result in serious bodily injury or death of a person unrelated to the criminal enterprise. You must also not be the leader of the criminal enterprise.
Drug trafficking is a serious charge in Mississippi, even if you possessed marijuana. You don’t need to be a dealer to face a drug trafficking charge either.
