Most drug charges are for possession and/or sale. The punishment depends on the amount. For a small amount of marijuana, the odds of somebody going to jail are almost zero. It’s more about the charge going on their criminal record or employment record.

 

That same person with regards to possessing cocaine, Oxycodone, or one of the other drugs could be looking at a year in jail, but it’s much more likely to get probation or a small jail sentence. 

 

Quantity will factor into penalties for drug-related offenses

 

For cocaine, for instance, 500 milligrams is weight necessary for the charge to be a felony, that’s done as an aggregate weight and not a pure weight. Therefore, if you are caught with a small amount of drugs mixed in with a lot of an inert substance, you are charged based on the total weight of the two mixed together. 

 

Quantity becomes less of a factor with controlled substances

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Any amount, meaning just 1 pill itself, that you don’t have a prescription for and is a controlled substance, becomes a misdemeanor.