Drug manufacturing offenses fall under specific laws that separate the charge from other drug crimes. If you are accused of manufacturing drugs, contact an experienced Michigan drug manufacturing lawyer to combat these charges and avoid severe penalties.
Michigan law enforcement handles drug manufacturing charges and cases much more severely than possession and much more like cases involving the intent to deliver, in some instances.
A person can be arrested for and charged with drug manufacturing in Michigan if the activity is permitted under local or state law, but is still considered illegal under federal law. For example, it is at least theoretically possible for a person to be charged with manufacturing marijuana at the federal level even if they are a state caregiver.
Defining a Manufacturing ChargeGenerally, a person is guilty of manufacturing a drug when they take a legal substance, and by chemical processes, chemical synthesis, or some type of extraction, they make the legal substance into something illegal. Meaning that the illicit substance has a physiological or psychological impact on the person that uses it. Manufacturing can also be taking an illegal substance, like opium, and make it into heroin. Growing things like mushrooms or marijuana can be considered manufacturing, but a drug manufacturing lawyer in Michigan.
Finally, the manufacturing of drugs can also include picking a drug that is illegal or even one that is legal and repackaging it and selling it in an illegal manner. According to the law in Michigan a person cannot lawfully manufacture, create, deliver, or possess with the intent to manufacture, create, or deliver a controlled substance, a controlled prescription, a counterfeit prescription, or a counterfeit drug. Drug manufacturing offenses fall under specific laws that separate the charge from other drug crimes.
Growing or Packaging DrugsIn some instances, drugs are derived from natural products such as mushrooms, marijuana, and poppies. Sometimes these plants can be grown at home. Certain types of mushrooms can be grown, as well as marijuana, at home. If the person is found in possession of the equipment used to grow the drugs, then that certainly would be an important factor in determining whether the person is going to be charged. Your Michigan drug manufacturing attorney can help build a defense against each of these charges.
Extension of ChargesMost of the time, the sale of supply materials for manufacturing drugs is not illegal. For example, it is common in Michigan now to see stores that are designed for selling equipment that is used to grow marijuana such as hydroponics stores, certain kinds of gardening stores, lightening stores, et cetera, and the person that sells these supplies has no obligation to make sure that the person to whom they are selling the supplies to is not going to use the supplies illegally. If the seller has knowledge of the intended illegal use, however, they may be held liable under the law.
If manufacturing or growing the drug requires many different steps and different people are involved in each step, then potentially they can each be found to be in violation of the law and perhaps even charged with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled substance.