No matter how big or small, a drug charge can be both a nuisance and a threat to one’s reputation. Even in the most minuscule amounts, a cocaine charge in California can result in a misdemeanor or felony. Although the state’s laws surrounding this drug have become less severe in recent years, countless professionals face a daunting future of legal procedures, fees and even time behind bars — a process that can linger for years.
Drug arrests often involve multiple people on multiple levels. As Los Angeles Daily News shared last December, one major case in the area involved the arrest of seven people for suspicious drug activity. The defendants had operated a cocaine and heroin delivery ring over a span of two months. Law enforcement seized the drugs, which amounted to 14 pounds of heroin and over a pound of cocaine; the ring had also circulated a significant amount of cash. Although the defendants faced arraignment in court, Los Angeles Daily News did not share additional information on the ring’s customers.
While local law enforcement continues to battle cases such as the aforementioned one, California is one of many states that has recently faced another drug-related issue: that of spiked drugs. The Orange County Register reported that acetyl fentanyl has woven its way into cocaine and heroin in areas across the nation. Four Orange County people died from this dangerous chemical in 2015, making the first of the county’s fentanyl-related deaths. The drug can be up to 100 times more potent than morphine, and although it has gripped the country since its introduction in the 1960s, it has continued to plague areas and claim lives. Cocaine arrests may be problematic in a number of ways, but a life on the line is an entirely different — and urgent — matter.