220.18 Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree

NYC Second Degree Drug Possession Defense | NY Penal Law 220.18 Attorneys

So your probably sitting in a holding cell right now or maybe you just got home on some insane bail amount because the cops arrested you with what they claim is “4 ounces or more” of drugs. Maybe they kicked down your door at dawn. Maybe they pulled you over for a broken taillight and “smelled marijuana.” Or maybe your roommate left drugs in the apartment and now YOUR facing charges. Look, we get it. Your ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED. And you know what? You should be! Because 4 ounces means MANDATORY PRISON TIME under NY Penal Law §220.18!

What Is the Mandatory Minimum Sentence for 4 Ounces in NY?

Here’s the brutal truth about second degree possession that nobody wants to tell you straight. If your convicted of having 4 ounces or more of drugs, your looking at mandatory state prison time – not county jail, actual STATE PRISON. The judge has absolutely no choice in the matter. For a first-time offender with no criminal record? THREE YEARS MINIMUM. That’s right – even if your a single parent, even if you have a job, even if your in school, even if the judge feels terrible about it. Three years behind bars is the absolute minimum by law. Got a prior drug conviction? Now your facing SIX TO FOURTEEN YEARS mandatory according to NY Penal Law Article 70. Prior violent felony on your record? EIGHT TO SEVENTEEN YEARS mandatory. And the maximum possible sentence if things go really bad? LIFE IN PRISON. Yes, you read that correctly – life in prison for drug possession. Plus they can hit you with up to $50,000 in fines on top of the prison time. We’ve literally seen judges apologize to defendants while sentencing them because there hands are completely tied. The word “mandatory” means exactly what it says – no exceptions, no mercy, no alternatives.

Can You Avoid Jail Time With 4 Ounces of Drugs?

Let us be brutally honest with you – if your convicted of second degree possession with 4 ounces or more, you CANNOT avoid prison. There’s no probation option for Class A-II felonies under New York’s sentencing guidelines. No drug treatment alternative programs. No community service instead of prison. No house arrest or electronic monitoring. No “time served” deals if its under 3 years. The ONLY ways to avoid that mandatory prison sentence are to beat the case completely. That means getting evidence thrown out because of an illegal search or bad warrant. Or proving the actual drug weight is under 112 grams when they remove the packaging. Or showing it wasn’t actually yours through a constructive possession defense. Or negotiating the charges down to third degree possession, which is under 4 ounces. We’ve helped clients avoid mandatory prison sentences, but it takes aggressive defense work from day one. You can’t wait around hoping things will work out – they won’t. The system is designed to convict you and send you to prison. That’s the harsh reality your facing.

What’s the Difference Between Second and Third Degree Possession?

This is literally the difference between freedom and prison, and it all comes down to weight. Third degree possession is when you have less than 4 ounces – that’s a Class B felony where probation is still possible for first offenders. The judge has discretion to give you drug treatment programs or alternative sentencing. But once you hit that 4 ounce mark? Everything changes. Second degree possession is a Class A-II felony with MANDATORY prison time. No alternatives to incarceration allowed. The judge has ZERO discretion – they must send you to state prison for at least 3 years. Think about how insane this is – the difference between 111 grams and 112 grams is the difference between maybe getting probation and definitely going to prison. One gram – literally the weight of a paperclip – determines whether your looking at freedom or incarceration. That’s why challenging the weight is SO CRITICAL in these cases!

How Do They Calculate Drug Weight in New York?

This is where technical details could literally save your life. The prosecution has to prove that the ACTUAL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE weighs 112 grams or more according to New York Public Health Law protocols. They can’t just weigh everything together and call it a day. Here’s what they CANNOT include in the weight:

• Plastic baggies or any packaging materials
• Tape, rubber bands, or twist ties
• Aluminum foil or paper wrapping
• The container or vessel holding the drugs
• Moisture or liquid in some cases

We’ve won cases where the cops claimed 115 grams total weight, but after our attorneys challenged it and forced proper testing? Only 109 grams of actual drugs. That six gram difference meant our client got probation instead of MANDATORY PRISON. The key is knowing what to look for – did they weigh items seperately or all together? Was there scale properly calibrated? Did the lab follow proper protocols? Is the chain of custody documentation complete? Any contamination or mixing of evidence? One mistake in any of these areas could be the difference between freedom and incarceration.

Can Second Degree Possession Be Reduced to a Lesser Charge?

Yes, but its tough as hell and requires specific circumstances. Prosecutors know they have incredible leverage with mandatory minimums, so they don’t reduce these charges easily. The most common way to get a reduction is through weight disputes – proving the actual drugs are under 112 grams after removing packaging. Lab errors can also lead to reductions if testing procedures were wrong or results are questionable. Sometimes cooperation with law enforcement can lead to charge reductions, but that’s extremely risky and could make you a target. Pre-indictment deals before the grand jury votes are sometimes possible if there are serious problems with the prosecution’s case. If the weight is very close to the threshold – like 112 to 120 grams – and you have no criminal record, strong mitigation evidence like addiction or mental health issues might help. But don’t count on prosecutors being sympathetic – there job is to convict you.

What Happens If Drugs Were Found in My Car But Weren’t Mine?

This is one of the most common situations we see, and here’s the good news – just because drugs were in your car doesn’t automatically mean there yours! The prosecution has to prove you KNEW the drugs were there, you had the ability to control them, and you intended to possess them. We’ve seen all kinds of situations where people got charged for drugs that weren’t theirs, similar to cases like People v. Manini where proximity alone wasn’t enough. Drugs left in a rental car from the previous renter. A passenger who threw drugs under the seat during a traffic stop. An ex-boyfriend who hid drugs in his girlfriend’s car to get revenge. Even cases where mechanics left drugs in vehicles during repairs. The key is YOU ABSOLUTELY CANNOT TALK TO POLICE about it! Anything you say will be twisted and used to prove you knew about the drugs. “I don’t know how those got there” becomes an admission you knew they were there. “Those aren’t mine” becomes an admission you knew what they were. Stay silent and let your attorney argue the case. If multiple people had access to the car, if the drugs were hidden where you wouldn’t normally look, if there’s no fingerprints or DNA linking you to the packaging – these are all defenses. But you need an attorney who knows how to argue constructive possession cases effectively.

What Evidence Can Get Thrown Out in Drug Cases?

If we can get evidence suppressed, the whole case could collapse regardless of how much drugs they found. The most common grounds for suppression are Fourth Amendment violations – illegal searches and seizures. Did the cops have probable cause to stop your car in the first place? Or did they just claim they “smelled marijuana” after pulling you over for no reason? Did they extend the traffic stop longer than necessary to call a K-9 unit, violating Rodriguez v. United States? Did they pressure you into “consenting” to a search when you really had no choice? If there was a search warrant, we attack that too. Was the information in the warrant application true? Was it based on a reliable informant or just some random tip? Was the probable cause stale – based on old information? Did they exceed the scope of what the warrant allowed? Miranda violations can also get statements thrown out. If they questioned you without reading your rights, if they kept interrogating after you asked for a lawyer, if they made promises to get you to talk – all of that could be suppressed. Chain of custody problems are another avenue. If they can’t document who handled the drugs and when, if there are gaps in the timeline, if evidence was contaminated or went missing – that’s grounds for dismissal. We file these motions immediately because if we win, the case is over regardless of guilt or innocence.

The Harsh Reality of Bail and Pre-Trial Detention

Want to know something that’ll make you really angry? Bail for second degree possession in NYC typically ranges from $100,000 to over $1,000,000 according to data from the NYC Criminal Justice Agency. Manhattan judges are the worst – regularly setting bail at half a million dollars or more. Some defendants don’t even get bail – they’re remanded without any bail option at all. If you can’t make bail, your sitting in Rikers Island for months or even over a year waiting for trial. Think about what that means – you lose your job because no employer holds positions for that long. You lose your apartment because you can’t pay rent from jail. Your family suffers without your income. Your kids might end up in foster care. The prosecution knows this and uses it as leverage. They’ll offer you the “deal” of pleading guilty to the mandatory minimum just to get out of jail. Take 3 years in prison now, or sit in Rikers for a year waiting for trial where you might get 10 years if convicted. It’s basically extortion but its completely legal. The system is literally designed to force guilty pleas through pre-trial detention.

Long-Term Consequences Nobody Tells You About

Even after you serve your mandatory minimum sentence, your life is basically destroyed. A second degree drug conviction follows you forever. You can’t get most jobs because who’s gonna hire someone with a violent felony? You’re banned from federal student loans according to federal aid eligibility rules. No public housing – NYCHA has a lifetime ban for drug felonies. You can never own a firearm again. Professional licenses get revoked permanently – nursing, teaching, real estate, all gone. If your not a citizen, your looking at deportation after you finish your prison sentence. Then there’s post-release supervision – 1.5 to 5 years of parole after prison. You have to report weekly to a parole officer who controls your life. Random drug tests where one failure sends you back to prison. Can’t leave the state without permission. Curfews, travel restrictions, association limitations. Any technical violation – missing an appointment, being late to report, testing positive for alcohol – means immediate reincarceration. Your basically not free even when your “free.” The punishment continues for years after you get out of prison. That felony conviction destroys every opportunity for the rest of your life.

Why Spodek Law Group for Second Degree Possession Cases

Look, we’re not gonna sugarcoat this – these are some of the toughest cases in criminal law. Alot of lawyers just push there clients to take the mandatory minimum because actually fighting these cases is hard work. They don’t want to challenge weights, file suppression motions, or go to trial. They just want the easy plea bargain and move on to the next case. That’s not how we operate. We actually challenge drug weights with expert analysis. We file aggressive suppression motions immediately while evidence is fresh. We know all the Special Narcotics prosecutors and how they operate. We investigate from day one – preserving surveillance footage before its deleted, interviewing witnesses while memories are clear, documenting injuries from arrests, attacking warrant affidavits. We treat you like family, not just another case number. We know your whole life is on the line – your freedom, your family, your future. We go to trial when other firms won’t because sometimes that’s the only way to win. Every single day matters in these cases because evidence disappears, witnesses move away, videos get deleted. Meanwhile the prosecution builds there case with unlimited resources.

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Don’t wait another day! Don’t talk to the cops! Don’t think this will resolve itself! The sooner we start fighting, the better chance you have of avoiding that mandatory prison sentence. Remember – 112 grams equals MANDATORY PRISON but 111 grams might mean probation. ONE GRAM could save your freedom. Let us fight for that one gram. Let us fight for your future. Your family needs you home, not in state prison!

Disclaimer: Every case is unique and past results don’t guarantee future outcomes. But we promise this – we’ll fight harder than any other firm to keep you out of prison. Because we know what’s at stake when mandatory minimums are involved.