Flunitrazepam Trafficking Charges

Flunitrazepam is a benzodiazepine drug that is sold abroad for use in treating anxiety and sleep disorders under the trade name Rohypnol. It is not approved for use or sale in the United States. Often, flunitrazepam is smuggled into the country by international mail and sold on the street in 1-2 mg. tablets. Flunitrazepam has been associated with date rape. If you are charged with flunitrazepam trafficking, you should be aware that it is taken very seriously and hire a Bradenton flunitrazepam trafficking lawyer. Hanlon Law protects the rights of the accused.

If you are charged with flunitrazepam trafficking, you face the possibility of a mandatory minimum sentence. Mandatory minimum sentences are harsh because they entail an automatic prison term being imposed for a crime. Often, they seem unfair. Somebody who was relatively unimportant in a drug trafficking scheme, a person who conspired or agreed to play a role, can face years in prison alongside a principal person in the same scheme. When a conviction is obtained, mandatory minimum sentences are imposed even if the defendant was a nonviolent offender with no prior record — a person who simply made a mistake.

If you are charged with this type of crime, you should consult a flunitrazepam trafficking attorney in the Bradenton area right away. This is a first-degree felony charge, the sentence for which will be determined by the weight of flunitrazepam involved. The prosecutor will need to show beyond a reasonable doubt that you: (1) knowingly (2) possessed, bought, sold, manufactured, or imported (3) a minimum of 4 grams of flunitrazepam. If you are convicted of an activity involving 4-14 grams, the mandatory minimum sentence is 3 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. If you are convicted of an activity involving 14-28 grams of flunitrazepam, the mandatory minimum sentence is 7 years and a $100,000 fine. If you are convicted of an activity involving 28 grams-30 kg, the mandatory minimum sentence is 25 calendar years and a $500,000 fine. When there is at least 30 kg of flunitrazepam involved, you face the possibility of life imprisonment, during which you would be ineligible for discretionary relief, except in rare circumstances.

Young people in high school or college can be charged with Flunitrazepam or Rohypnol trafficking. If you are under the age of 21 when sentenced, it may be possible to obtain youthful offender sentencing. This permits the judge to use discretion and depart from the mandatory minimum sentence to sentence you to something less. Your Bradenton flunitrazepam trafficking attorney would need to show that there was discretion to impose a youthful offender sentence by showing: (1) you are younger than 21 years old on the sentencing date, (2) you were found guilty or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a non-capital crime or a crime not involving a life sentence, and (3) you had not previously been sentenced as a youthful offender.

When you qualify, and the court agrees to sentence you under youthful offender sentencing, the court can impose a maximum of 6 years of probation or community control, a maximum of 365 days of incarceration as a condition of probation, a maximum of 6 years in prison, or a combination of prison and probation with no more than 4 years in prison.

When you are sentenced to probation, to jail as a condition of probation, or to community control, the judge may withhold an adjudication of guilty. This allows you to keep your civil rights, such as your right to have a gun or vote. However, if you are caught with drugs during probation or community control, you can be re-sentenced to the maximum permitted prison sentence, even if you are under age 21.

Flunitrazepam trafficking convictions can result in mandatory minimum sentences and a significant stigma, similar to a conviction of trafficking in cocaine or another narcotic. If you have been charged with this offense, you should retain a tough and experienced lawyer like our firm's founder, Will Hanlon, who has represented the accused since 1994. You can call Hanlon Law at 941.253.0254 or submit our online form.