Heroin is a powerful street drug. It has many amusing names, including Smack, H, Tar, Chiba or Chiva, junk, brown sugar, Skag, Mud, Dragon, Dope, China White, White Nurse, White Lady, White Horse, White Girl, White Boy, White Stuff, Boy, He, Black, Black Tar, Black Pearl, Black Stuff, Black Eagle, Brown, Brown Crystal, Brown Tape, Brown Rhine, Snow, Snowball, Scat, Sack, Skunk, Number 3, Number 4 and Number 8. Heroin mixed with marijuana is also known as Atom bomb, canade, woola, woolie and woo-woo.
Heroin is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning that there exists a high risk of abuse (compared to lower schedule numbers, Schedule V being the least addictive) and there is presently no accepted medicinal use in the US.
Let’s go through the various California drug charges you could be facing in relation to heroin:
* Personal Possession of Heroin, violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 11350
A California criminal prosecutor can charge you with a violation of Health and Safety Code Section 11350, or being in “personal possession of a controlled substance.” You do not have to have the heroin on your physical person to be charged with possession. It is sufficient that you knew of the presence of the drug on or about you and you had the ability to exercise control over it. This is known as “constructive possession.” HS 11350 also prohibits the possession of a range of other controlled substances, including cocaine (or coke base), gamma-hydroxybutric acid (or GHB), peyote, and codeine and hydrocodone (or “Vicodin”) obtained without a prescription.
If a prosecutor succeeds in obtaining your conviction, you will have a felony drug conviction on your record. You will be imprisoned for up to three (3) years in one of California’s ultraviolent “correctional” institutions and you will have to pay up to $20,000.00 in fines and fees.
* Possession of Heroin for Sales, violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 11351
Up on the scale of “severity” is 11351 HS, or possession of heroin for sales. The penalties for this crime are more stringent that “simple possession” because the propagation of these drugs to the public for remuneration is considered loathsome. If a court convicts you of having possessed heroin for sale, a court can impose a state prison sentence of up to four (4) years and you will have to pay a fine of up to $20,000.00. If the weight of the heroin you possessed for sale was in excess of one (1) kilogram (kg), the court can impose an additional twenty-five (25) years in a California state prison and your fine could rise to $80,000.00. Moreover, a possession for sales
* Transportation or Sales of Heroin, violation of California Health and Safety Code Section 11352
If you sold or transported heroin, or participated in any of the proscribed activities enumerated in this code section, a California criminal prosecutor can charge you with a violation of Section 11352 and you will suffer the penalties associated with this offense. Specifically, a court can sentence you to up nine (9) years in the California State Prison if you transported heroin across more than two (2) county lines.
Our West Covina battery charges defense attorneys can DEFEND you against any heroin-related charges.
Winner of the TOP ATTORNEY AWARD TWO YEARS IN A ROW, i.e., 2014 Top Attorney Award, 2013 Top Attorney Award, Issued by Pasadena Magazine; Winner of the Witkin Legal Institute’s Award for EXCELLENCE in Constitutional Law; Winner of the Witkin Legal Institute’s Award for EXCELLENCE in Legal Analysis & Writing; Presiding Felony Court Judge, Torrance Courthouse remarking on Attorney Coimbra’s Writing: “This is the best motion...I have ever read.” Winner of HONORS in Legal Aide Clinic; Dean’s List and Honorable Mentions. Incredibly skilled, experienced and effective California Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer Lorgio Coimbra and the Coimbra Law Firm. Visit us online: www.CoimbraLaw.com 626-827-7222
