Felony drug charges knocked down to treatment and probation (especially if the charges are vacated/removed from your record at the end) is a HUGE win, in most places. Although in some places it’s standard for first offences.
The standards vary state by state as to what conditions are usually applied. In my state (where MJ is legal for both Rx & Recreational use) it’s a minimum of 2 years with no drugs or alcohol of any kind.. and any Rx’s have to be approved by a court appointed physician/you doctor will also come under audit at least once a year ...in conjunction with
- 30-90 days inpatient treatment or 5 days a week IOP for 1-6mo
- 2 years outpatient treatment
- X # of meetings per week, although 5 is the most common, I’ve seen both 7 & 14 (court slips collected in the beginning and returned at the end of the meeting, slips both collected by PO at certain intervals and random “spot checks”).
- both scheduled & random UAs, blood tests, saliva/breathalyzer tests, and an ignition lock on your vehicle if you want to drive during your probation.
- plus whatever other hoops to jump through as conditions of your probation the court sees fit to apply (the most commmon is zero contact with individuals and groups, and it HELPS ENOURMOUSLY to immediately take out an order of no contact / restraining order on those individual people listed... so if they contact you? As long as you call the police, each and every single time to report it, you are not in violation of your probation/parole.
It’s involved, to be sure, but most people prefer it rather strongly to going to jail.
Every state has it’s own standards as far as drug court goes... your lawyer would know what yours are / what to expect if you take that option.
If your sentence would otherwise be 4 years or longer? And you’re under 32? Or if the felony isn’t wiped from your record? You could also ask about the military-or-jail option. That one usually requires that you serve some period of time (7 days, 30 days, 3months, 1 year... it’s usually a percentage of your sentence) and then you’re shipped off to boot camp and the felony is wiped in lieu of military service as soon as you complete basic training. I served with a LOT of people who took that option... although they were at the trafficking level looking at 20+ years for the most part, a few were in states where personal use or low level distribution carried monster sentences. I mention it, because it’s an option women simply aren’t told about more often than not, even if their charges/sentence meet the requirements. But, similar to drug court (but worse, younreeeeally don’t want to find yourself in military courts) there’s no illegal drug use in the military, and MJ is still illegal at the federal level.
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