Drug possession and distribution charges in Georgia are usually formally referred to as V.G.C.S.A., which stands for Violation(s) of Georgia Controlled Substances Act, as defined in Title 16, Article 2 of O.C.G.A. Needless to say the consequences of a Georgia conviction for drug arrests - whether for felony possession of marijuana, possession of prescription drugs, possession of methamphetamine or cocaine, possession of drugs with intent to distribute, trafficking, etc. - can be devastating on someone's present quality of life and future employment opportunities, not to mention the threat of extended jail time.
The only V.G.C.S.A. charge that can be charged as a misdemeanor is possession of less than one ounce of marijuana. As with all other drug charges under V.G.C.S.A, however, a conviction for even misdemeanor possession of marijuana will, among other things, also result in the suspension of your driver's license for six months.
Hiring a competent and effective lawyer like Douglas N. Fox to represent you in a drug case in Georgia can serve to minimize the severity of the consequences you may suffer at the hands of the prosecutor and judge. Most importantly, if the circumstances of your case justify it, there is a good chance you can wind up with an outright dismissal of the charges against you. Obviously, a strong lawyer can capitalize on facts that show the police arrest or vehicle stop violated a suspect's search and seizure rights under the 4 th (and 14 th) Amendment; or on facts that indicate the required evidence of violation is missing, and work to have the case dismissed. More commonly, however, even when the facts surrounding the arrest indicate a likelihood that the charges will stick, an experienced lawyer can still have the charges dismissed. The tools that are used are called conditional dismissal, pretrial diversion and, if the options are truly limited, a plea under the Georgia First Offender Act (which will not result in a pure "dismissal," but will not count a "conviction" and will wipe the entire arrest and court disposition of your official Georgia criminal history).
The law office of Douglas N. Fox, P.C., located minutes from the Gwinnett County courthouse in Lawrenceville, Georgia, has over 15 years of experience in handling these drug charges and in working to obtain a fair resolution, including many, many dismissals. Not every individual or set of facts will qualify for a dismissal, and most of the arrangements that lead to a dismissal that are worked out still involve minor short-term consequences. Whatever the facts are, do NOT just walk into court and enter a plea in a drug case without first hiring a good lawyer with experience in resolving these cases. Contact the firm today, and obatin the help you need, right away.