The phrase “drug trafficking” may conjure images of narco-traffickers, loading a small airplane with bricks of cocaine or heroin, with assault rifles casually hanging from their shoulders.
In most cases, however, it is something else entirely. Any person who uses or sells drugs can potentially be charged with drug trafficking in SC if they are found in possession of more than the “threshold weight” for criminal trafficking charges.
You can also be convicted of trafficking if the government proves that you agreed with one or more other people to traffic drugs – even if you never had the drugs in your possession.
Below, we will discuss what drug trafficking charges mean in SC, what the threshold weights are for each type of drug, and what the potential penalties – the highest of any type of drug charge in SC – are for each type of drug trafficking offense.
Or, if you prefer, click one of the links below to jump directly to the drug in question.
Drug Trafficking Charges in SC
Drug trafficking charges can be based on either weight – if you are in possession of more than the threshold amount of drugs – or conspiracy.
Weight vs. Conspiracy – What’s Your Trafficking Charge Based on?
Drug Trafficking Charges Based on Weight
Simple possession, possession with intent to distribute, and trafficking charges in SC are often based on the weight of the drugs found – the greater the amount of drugs, the greater the potential penalties.
Even within the category of drug trafficking, there are “levels” based on drug weights, with the potential penalties increasing as the numbers get higher.
Can Drug Trafficking Charges be Reduced?
Possession with intent to distribute (PWID) and simple possession are lesser included offenses of trafficking when it is based on possession (your charges could be reduced or a jury could find you guilty of the lesser charge), but not when the trafficking is based on conspiracy.
Drug Trafficking Charges Based on Conspiracy
You can be charged with drug trafficking in SC based on conspiracy, although the amount of drugs that you conspired to traffic must still be greater than the threshold requirement. SC Code Section 44-53-370(e) says:
(e) Any person who knowingly sells, manufactures, cultivates, delivers, purchases, or brings into this State, or who provides financial assistance or otherwise aids, abets, attempts, or conspires to sell, manufacture, cultivate, deliver, purchase, or bring into this State, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession or who knowingly attempts to become in actual or constructive possession of…
A simple phone call or text message that says, “Hey Bob, bring me ten of the good stuff…” can become a key piece of evidence that causes you to spend decades of your life in prison, even if the police never found any drugs on you.
Note that trafficking charges in SC can be based on possession, distribution, manufacturing, cultivation, purchasing, helping someone else to do any of the above, attempting to do any of the above, or conspiring to do any of the above, as long as the weight of the drugs in question exceeds the threshold amount.
Types of Drug Trafficking Charges in SC
Any type of drug offense can become a trafficking charge if the drugs in question exceed the threshold weight. What are the threshold weights and potential penalties?
Trafficking in Marijuana
More than 10 pounds of marijuana is charged as trafficking, and the potential penalties are:
10-100 pounds
- One to ten years for a first offense;
- Five to twenty years for a second offense; and
- A mandatory twenty-five years for a third offense.
Trafficking marijuana greater than 100 pounds carries a mandatory twenty-five year sentence, and the potential fines increase in stages up to a $200,000 fine for 10,000 or more pounds or 10,000 or more plants.
Trafficking Cocaine
More than 10 grams of cocaine is charged as trafficking in cocaine, and the potential penalties are:
10-28 grams of cocaine
- 3-10 years for a first offense;
- 5-30 years for a second offense; and
- 25-30 years for a third or subsequent offense.
28-100 grams of cocaine
- 7-25 years for a first offense;
- 7-30 years for second offense; and
- 25-30 years for a third or subsequent offense.
100-200 grams of cocaine carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years and a fifty thousand dollar fine.
200-400 grams of cocaine carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years and a one-hundred thousand dollar fine.
More than 400 grams of cocaine carries 25-30 years and a two-hundred thousand dollar fine.
Note that you can get a mandatory prison sentence of 25 years for 10 pounds of marijuana or the exact same prison sentence for more than 400 grams of cocaine…
Cocaine Base (Crack)
The threshold weights and potential penalties for trafficking in cocaine base (crack cocaine) are exactly the same as those for powder cocaine, but they are found in a separate statute, SC Code Section 44-53-375.
Trafficking Methamphetamine
Trafficking in Methamphetamine, or Meth, also carries the same potential penalties and has the same threshold weights as powder cocaine and cocaine base and is found in Section 44-53-375.
Trafficking Heroin
Heroin trafficking carries the highest potential penalties for any drug crime in SC. The threshold weight for trafficking in heroin is four grams or more – a relatively small amount – and it includes “any morphine, opium, salt, isomer, or salt of an isomer thereof,” including:
- Heroin,
- Morphine, and
- Fentanyl.
The penalties can range from 7 up to 40 years in prison:
4-14 grams of heroin
- 7-25 years for a first offense; and
- A mandatory 25 years for a second offense.
14-28 grams of heroin carries a mandatory 25 years.
28 grams or more of heroin carries a mandatory minimum of 25 and as much as 40 years in prison.
Trafficking MDMA (Ecstasy/Molly)
100 pills or more (or the equivalent “dosage units,” if it is not in pill form) of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine, Molly, or ecstasy) is considered trafficking under SC law.
The potential penalties for trafficking in MDMA are:
100-500 pills
- 3-10 years for a first offense;
- 5-30 years for a second offense; and
- 25-30 years for a third offense.
500-1000 pills
- 7-25 years for a first offense;
- 7-30 years for a second offense; and
- 25-30 years for a third offense.
1000 pills or more carries a mandatory sentence of 25 years.
Fight Your Drug Charges
Whether it involves marijuana or heroin, trafficking charges in SC have the potential to end your life as you know it.
If you are facing drug trafficking charges in SC or believe you are under investigation, it is critical that you get an experienced drug defense attorney on your case.
The sooner the better because the attorney can immediately attempt to get your case dismissed, negotiate a reduction in the charges, or try your case to a jury.