Drug cultivation and manufacturing laws make it a crime to (1) grow, produce, and possess certain plants and other naturally occurring elements used in the production of unlawful controlled substances, such as cannabis seeds and marijuana plants; or (2) to produce illegal controlled substances like methamphetamine, Ecstasy, LSD, and cocaine, which require use of certain chemicals and various laboratory equipment to produce. For instance, if police conducted a legal search of your home and found cannabis seeds, high-powered lamps, and remnants of marijuana plants, you could be charged with violation of drug cultivation and manufacturing laws. Laws for drug cultivation vary according to the type of drug produced and the amount of the drug produced.

Although state laws vary, a person is generally guilty of drug manufacture when they produce an illegal substance by means of a chemical synthesis or a natural extraction process. The manufacturing of drugs can also include the packaging or repacking of the substance or the labeling and re-labeling of its container.

Marijuana cultivation as well as the possession of the chemicals necessary to manufacture illegal drugs is a felony. However, several states have passed statutes that allow patients to grow, possess, and use marijuana for medical purposes if they have the documented approval of a physician. Some even allow registered care givers to grow the plants and distribute them, but not use the drug themselves. Amounts are generally restricted to ounces of useable marijuana, a specific number of plants, or a supply for a certain number of days. In U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative (2001), the Supreme Court ruled that there is no medical necessity exception to the federal ban on marijuana, yet a ruling in Raich v. Ashcroft (9th Cir. 2003), granted an injunction in California against federal prosecution for possession and use of marijuana that has not been sold or transported across state lines and is used for medicinal purposes. This case has been appealed to the Supreme Court, and time will tell where these rulings will end.

In addition, some states allow limited exceptions to the manufacture and distribution of peyote for use in bona fide religious ceremonies of the Native American Church. As with the marijuana rulings, cases for peyote manufacturing and cultivation are the subject of many court battles.

While marijuana production is probably the most common and easiest drug to manufacture, manufacture of methamphetamines has become a major concern in the “war on drugs.” In 1983, the criminal justice system passed laws prohibiting possession of equipment that could serve as a precursor for methamphetamine production, and in 1986, passed the Federal Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act in an effort to slow the use of designer drugs. Despite these precautions, methamphetamine use expanded throughout the rural U.S. with clandestine laboratories resorting to the use of unorthodox and unclean equipment for methamphetamine production such as mason jars and plastic kitchen containers. As a result, since 1989, five federal laws and numerous state laws have been imposed in an attempt to curb the production of methamphetamines.

Unfortunately, methamphetamine can be quite easily produced in home laboratories using pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, active ingredients in many cold and sinus over-the-counter drugs. Most states have placed addition restrictions on the sale of these precursor chemicals, making them more difficult for the average methamphetamine manufacturer to obtain. Much to the dismay of many consumers, pseudoephedrine, a common over-the-counter decongestant, now requires a purchaser to provide identification and various other information before being permitted to purchase a simple package of cold medicine.

Defenses to Drug Manufacturing/Cultivation
Defenses for criminal manufacturing/cultivation charges are the same as for most other drug offenses. The police may legitimately search persons and property, and seize both persons and property, either with or without a warrant if the circumstances justify these actions. Thus, the key to a drug manufacture defense rests on proof that the police acted without probable cause or exceeded constitutional limitations on their actions. In these cases where searches and/or seizures are deemed invalid the resulting evidence may be considered to be tainted and consequently, inadmissible, leaving the court with very little recourse for a drug conviction.

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Vehicular homicide is a lesser charge than manslaughter and is included in the offense of negligent homicide.  Vehicular homicide statutes basically consider a vehicle as a potentially deadly weapon which allows for easy conviction and sometimes severe penalties.  The victim of a vehicular homicide may be either a person not in the car with the driver, a pedestrian or other motorist, or a passenger in the vehicle with the driver.  Drivers convicted of vehicular homicide are given shorter sentences than people found to be guilty of other types of homicide, but do end up with a criminal record and some form of lesser punishment.

The advent of vehicular homicide as a separate crime from manslaughter is a result of the reluctance of juries in the criminal justice system to convict automobile drivers of murder or manslaughter for death caused by reckless or negligent driving.  Thus, the standards of proof and those for sentencing are less stringent for vehicular homicide than for involuntary manslaughter, and in some states vehicular homicide is part of the vehicle code rather than the criminal code. In other states, drunk drivers can face murder charges.  In Ohio a man pled no contest to charges of running a red light and vehicular homicide when an airbag deployed in an accident and killed his infant son.  Though no law in Ohio required that the airbag be switched off, and no law, as of the time of the incident, stipulated that the child had to be in the back seat, safety stickers in the vehicle and on the baby’s care seat warned of the danger.  The father was sentenced to spend the child’s birthday and the anniversary of the accident in jail.

In various states, vehicular homicide is referred to by various terminologies with the same crime being referenced.  However, in other states, the offense is distinctly defined, as in Texas where the term used is intoxication manslaughter.  Intoxication manslaughter is defined as “a crime in which a person operates a motor vehicle in a public place, operates an aircraft, a watercraft, or an amusement ride, or assembles a mobile amusement ride while intoxicated, and by reason of that intoxication, causes the death of another by accident or mistake” (Tex. Penal Code §49.08).  The fact that a defendant is entitled to use alcohol, or some other substance, is not a valid defense for intoxication manslaughter in Texas.  In fact, in New York to be convicted of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, it is not necessary to prove the person was negligent in causing the death of another, nor that they unlawfully used the substance that intoxicated them, but only that they were intoxicated, operated a motor vehicle, and someone died (N.Y. Penal Law § 125.3).

Vehicular homicide can be charged either as a misdemeanor or as a felony, depending on the severity of the situation and whether the driver was merely negligent or grossly negligent in operating his vehicle.  A misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge is considered a minor crime with a maximum punishment of a year in jail and a fine.  A felony charge of vehicular homicide is punishable by a term in state prison, the time of the prison term depending upon the circumstances of the incident.  Gross negligence or driving a few miles over the speed limit might be charged as a misdemeanor, but drunk driving resulting in a fatality will most likely be treated as a felony.  In general, consequences for a conviction on a charge of vehicular homicide or vehicular manslaughter are long-term imprisonment, probation or parole, revocation of driving privileges, and significant fines.

Defenses for vehicular homicide include, proving the driver was not at fault, proving a lack of negligence, showing insufficient evidence, and proving factual innocence. Defending of these cases in the US criminal justice system is best handled by experienced and specialized attorneys.

Crack, another form of cocaine, comes in a rock crystal and can be heated and its vapors smoked.  With the advent of crack cocaine, the drug has become easily available and continues to burden law enforcement and health care systems alike.  Street names for cocaine include coke, Charlie, snow, flake, blow, nose candy, snowball, tornado, wicky stick, and toot.

Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia are the largest illicit coca producing countries in the world; however, Mexican drug trafficking organizations and criminal groups control most wholesale cocaine distribution in the United States, with Colombian and Dominican groups controlling some of the Northeast and Florida/Caribbean Regions.  Most cocaine is smuggled over the Mexican border into the United States and is distributed in nearly every large and midsize city.

Cocaine is categorized as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, classifying it as a drug with a high potential for abuse, but one that can be legitimately administered by a doctor for medical uses, such as local anesthesia for throat, eye, and ear surgeries.

Cocaine possession charges include not only simple (actual) possession of the drug (on the person), but may also include constructive possess of cocaine found in any area over which a person has control. For example, the driver of a car may be in constructive possession of cocaine found inside the glove compartment or the trunk of his car or the resident owner of a house may be in constructive possession of cocaine found in his kitchen or bedroom.

The criminal justice system is fairly consistent in the war on drugs with most state law for cocaine possession or distribution mirroring federal law.  Consequently the penalties for possession and/or distribution of cocaine are the same as for all other Schedule I or II narcotics possession and distribution convictions.

Possession of less than 3 grams of cocaine is a class D felony and is punishable with one-half to three years of jail time and a fine of up to $1,000.  For greater quantities, penalties increase, peaking at possession of 3 grams or more in a park, public housing complex, school bus, or within 1,000 feet of a school, which increases the charge to a Class A Felony with six to twenty years of jail time and fines up to $10,000.  In addition, following a conviction for cocaine possession, a person’s driver’s licenses and motor vehicle registrations are suspended for a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years.

Distribution (selling) of cocaine is a much more serious crime than possession of cocaine, with much more serious penalties.  A conviction of distribution which includes the crime of possession with intent to distribute as well as distribution itself is considered a Class B felony with a jail time sentence of six to twenty years.  Class A Felony cocaine distribution and possession with intent to distribute convictions are based on the amount of cocaine involved in the crime, and ranges from 3 grams of cocaine, which draws a penalty of 6-20 years to distribution and/or possession with intent to distribute near schools and other public places, which draws a penalty of twenty to fifty years.  All penalties may include fines of up to $10,000.

Distribution of cocaine, as with all Schedule I and II drug charges, include manufacturing, financing the manufacturing, delivering, or financing the delivery of cocaine.  A sale is not a requirement for a charge of distribution of cocaine.  Mere transfer of the product is sufficient for an arrest and conviction.

Defending cocaine possession/cocaine distribution charges lies in the ability to prove that either what was found did not belong to the person charged, or at least that the person did not have intention to sell the cocaine in his/her possession, or that the law enforcement officials who arrested the person violated the his constitutional rights.  These defenses would include unreasonable search and seizure of property, no probable cause for a search, unlawful surveillance, or entrapment.

How is the offence defined in rape law? There are two kinds of rape, forcible rape and statutory rape. Essentially forcible rape is defined in most states as sexual relations with another individual against their will. Most statues do not discriminate between marital status, age, gender or sexual orientation of the victim or perpetrator. However, as of 2007 the FBI reports rapes only as a crime perpetrated by a man against a woman. There are four key elements required to sustain the charge of rape.

To convict someone of rape the prosecution must show that the act was committed without the victims consent or by deception. By simply saying “no” a victim is withholding consent. Persons who are physically or mentally impaired which, includes intoxication or unconsciousness are not capable of giving consent.   Minors are also excluded as being able to give their permission for sexual relations. Deception can also be used in a rape charge. If for example, a doctor uses the pretext of examination to penetrate a person it would be considered rape.   The next element is force. Force does include but is not limited to physically overpowering the victim. Threats that compel the victim to submit to a sexual act where they would otherwise not do so is also considered force. Threats include any action or statement that would cause the victim to fear for their safety or well being of them or another.  The third element to a rape is the actual sexual act. Acts include penetration, intrusion or manipulation of a sex organ, oral copulation, sodomy and penetration with a foreign object.  The final element, which is true of any crime, is intent or mens rea in which a person knowingly commits the act and that the act would cause harm. Mental or developmental disordered persons as well as some minors lack the ability to know that their acts are wrong.

The criminal justice system’s penalties for rape vary based upon the state of conviction and special circumstances such as repeat offenses, use of a firearm or weapon and sentencing enhancements such as three strikes laws.   For the most part rape law dictates that the offense carries a 20 year state prison term and a second offense can carry a life imprisonment term. Aggravated rape carries a sentencing of any amount up to and including life in a state prison. If the defendant is serving a term for a second or subsequent offence, he or she must serve at least two-thirds of that sentence before being eligible for release. According to United States Sentencing Commission the sentencing for rape by all states and U.S. territories breaks down as follows:  twenty (37.0%) provide for a maximum term of life imprisonment for rape, twenty-four (45.3%) have a maximum penalty of 20 years or more.

Statutory rape occurs when the victim consents to sexual relations with another but is not of legal age to do so. The legal age of consent varies state to state. The average age is approximately 16 years of age, with some states restricting consent to 18 and some allowing as young as 14.  Age differences between the parties can have an impact on the penalties imposed upon conviction. Penalties vary from state to state, in California up to 1 year in the county jail (a misdemeanor) or up to life imprisonment in Montana.  All states currently have sex offender registration laws and the Federal government requires that a person must register if they are convicted of felony rape charges.

Under rape law defending a charge can prove to be quite difficult. If there are no witnesses or physical evidence such as DNA if can come down to the testimony between the accuser and the defendant. If that is the case a defense approach could be to argue consent, that the victim was a willing participant.  In cases of statutory rape an argument could be made that the minor represented their self as being the age of consent.