Manufacturing

According to California law, it is a felony to manufacture, compound, produce or process any illegal narcotics or controlled substances. While there are obvious examples such as meth labs, if you simply alter the composition of a substance so that it is a controlled substance, you can be charged with this offense. This includes converting cocaine in its powdered form into crack cocaine.

If you are convicted of manufacturing drugs, you face a prison sentence of up to seven years. Manufacturing charges are treated more seriously if children or minors were nearby, if you are manufacturing drugs in large quantities, if the manufacture of drugs had a negative impact on someone else’s health, or if you have a drug related criminal history.

It is important to note that, in order to be convicted of manufacturing narcotics, you need to have actually participated in the production itself. If you were simply socializing with people who manufacture drugs or were simply present when drugs were being manufactured, you are not culpable.

Manufacturing drugs is a felony, punishable by three, five or seven years in county jail and a maximum fine of $50,000. Just offering to manufacture drugs for someone is also a felony, carrying jail sentences of three, four or five years.

​Examples of Defenses Against Manufacturing

One defense strategy against a manufacturing charge is to argue that your actions were merely a preparatory, like in attempt crimes. Here, even though you have gathered the precursors and ingredients to prepare methamphetamines, you had not actually begun to manufacture the drugs. Therefore, you have not actually committed the manufacture of any drugs. You have not taken that first preparatory step.

Ever since the “war of drugs” was declared, drugs has been one of the top priorities for law enforcement. In their overzealousness, they often make mistakes and infringe on civil liberties while carrying out investigations. I can find out if the police have violated your rights while investigating you and prove this in court. Even if there is a warrant, it may be flawed. You can also be exonerated from a manufacturing charge if the information supplied to the court to obtain a warrant was provided by an unreliable police or private informant. These strategies often lead to charges being reduced or dismissed.

Moreover, there are many reasons why innocent people are falsely accused of and arrested for manufacturing narcotics. A false accusation may be based on revenge or anger, or simply a desire to escape one’s own culpability. Further, witnesses are not perfect and even when line-ups are not unduly suggestive, witnesses often make incorrect identifications.