Penalties for possession

Ecstasy is a class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. It is illegal to be in possession of or to supply it and the drug cannot be prescribed by doctors. The maximum penalties for possession of Ecstasy is 7 years imprisonment plus a fine and for supply is life imprisonment plus a fine. 

The CSA also provides a system of penalties for drug possession or trafficking. The basic penalty for possession of a controlled substance is up to one year in prison plus a minimum fine of 1,000. This increases to up to three years and 5,000 for a third offense (counting previous convictions under state law). There are special higher penalties for possession of certain substances such as a mixture or substance which contains cocaine base, starting at up to three years and a fine of 5,000. 

Campaigning for the presidency, Jimmy Carter calls for removing federal penalties for possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. 

United States Congress passes Anti-Drug Abuse Act. This federal law includes mandatory minimum sentences for first-time offenders with harsher penalties for possession of crack cocaine than powder cocaine. 

The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B drug is five years of prison, an unlimited fine (of any amount), or prison and a fine. The maximum fine for supply (trafficking) is a 14-year prison term, an unlimited fine, or both penalties. 

For Class A drugs, the penalty for possession is seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. The supply penalty for this class, which includes cocaine and heroin, is life imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both penalties. 

GHB is already classified as a controlled substance by more than 20 states, and some other states also impose criminal penalties for possession of GHB. If Congress classifies GHB as a controlled substance, marketing the drug illegally would subject the offender to federal penalties, including imprisonment and fines. 

Penalties for possession of Schedule I and II drugs (methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, PCP, LSD, and marijuana among others) are far more severe than are the penalties for possession of Schedule III drugs, but they should not be dismissed entirely. Federal sentencing guidelines for possession of ketamine, regardless of the quantity, stipulate prison terms of not more than five years and individual fines of not more than 250,000. Second time offenders will almost certainly earn jail time, with a sentence determined by the judge but not to exceed 10 years. The fine is also doubled, to 500,000. 

In Australia, 2C-B is regulated by each state. In the state of Queensland, the penalty for possession of any illegal drug is one year in prison and a fine of 3,000, according to the Australian Drag Foundation. The trafficking or sale of 2C-B in Queensland carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of up to 250,000. 

Laws about marijuana have been the subject of controversy for many years. When marijuana use spread to the middle class in the 1960s and 1970s, public attitudes toward it softened. In 1970, President Richard Nixon created the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. In 1972, the Commission issued its report, "Marijuana A Signal of Misunderstanding." This report recommended the elimination of criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana.,—... 

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, mescaline could be purchased from several chemical supply houses in the form of sulfate or hydrochloride crystals. In 1970, mescaline and peyote were "scheduled as part of a Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, which established penalties for possession, manufacture or distribution "a term of imprisonment of not more than 15 years, a fine of not more than 25,000, or both. Title 21 proscribes possession of "all parts of the plant presently classified as Lophophora williamsii, whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, any extract from any part of such a plant, every compound, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such a plant, its seeds or extracts. ... 

A suggested intermediate course for cannabis, and perhaps even for heroin, is that penalties for possession of small amounts for personal consumption should be removed (decriminalisation as opposed to legalisation), whilst retaining criminal penalties for suppliers. Such an approach is increasingly and informally being implemented. 

Still, usage of the Psilocybe species continued, despite harsh penalties for possession and use (a total of 74 individuals were sentenced in 1972, and 27 in 1973). 

Each state has the opportunity to modify current drug laws according to its own needs and preferences. Most states have adopted guidelines, but many have changed certain components. For example, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, but the penalties for possession in many states arc less severe than those applied to other Schedule I substances. In fact, at least 11 states at some time have passed legislation to decriminalize marijuana possc,ssion. 

Meanwhile, a number of states were enacting new marihuana legislation of their own. In 1973, Oregon became the first state to decriminalize marihuana by changing the penalty for possession from a felony prison sentence to a 100 civil misdemeanor fine. Other states to follow Oregon s lead included Alaska, California, Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota. 

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