Illegal drug manufacturing in Nebraska is a serious criminal offense.
A manufacturing drug charge sentence could send you to prison for decades.
Even if you didn’t make the drugs but participated somehow in drug substance manufacturing, you still face a potentially lengthy prison sentence.
Beating your charge or negotiating a lesser charge requires the help of a tough, dedicated, and skilled criminal defense lawyer.
Omaha criminal defense attorney Tom Petersen of Petersen Criminal Defense Law has over 20 years of experience defending people facing dire consequences.
Attorney Petersen and his team are available 24 hours a day to spring into action to help their clients.
Drug Manufacturing Definition
The definition of manufacturing under Nebraska law covers a wide range of acts.
The statute indicates that manufacturing, distributing, delivering, dispensing, or possessing with the intent to manufacture, deliver, dispense, or possess is a crime. The same is true for counterfeit substances.
However, the definition of manufacturing is so broad that many innocent activities could be construed as participating in manufacturing drugs.
Manufacturing can mean anything from growing marijuana plants to cooking crystal meth or crack.
Activities such as obtaining the chemical components needed to make illegal drugs also fall under manufacturing.
For example, purchasing an over-the-counter medication—which is perfectly legal—could be a crime if the medicine is used to make crystal meth.
Nebraska’s drug manufacturing definition can also refer to providing technological or financial support to a drug-making enterprise.
However, it doesn’t need to be that complicated. Simply cooking cocaine on a stove to make crack or pressing heroin into bricks can be considered manufacturing.
Even if you never possess any illicit narcotics, the police could accuse you of manufacturing as either a co-conspirator or as part of a joint venture.
It surprises many people to know that courts treat co-conspirators and co-venturers in the exact same way they treat the person who actually possessed the narcotics.
What Is a Possible Manufacturing Drug Charge Sentence in Nebraska?
The possible penalty you face depends on several factors. According to Nebraska’s drug laws, the amount and type of drugs, chemicals, or compounds that you possess is one factor that determines the potential penalty you face.
Additionally, specific facts—like using a person under 18 to facilitate drug manufacturing or possessing a firearm—figure into your possible prison sentence.
Your criminal history, personal history, and the weight of the drugs are other crucial factors determining your penalty.
Drug laws in the U.S. classify drugs based on their addictive qualities and whether they are medically helpful. Nebraska law is no different.
Nebraska categorizes narcotics into schedules, and the drug statute determines the class of crime based on the drug schedule.
For instance, according to Schedules I, II, or III, a person who manufactures what is determined to be an exceptionally hazardous drug faces a Class II felony.
Manufacturing a drug classified in Schedules I, II, or III that is not an unusually hazardous drug is a Class IIA felony.
Manufacturing a drug found in Schedule IV or V is a Class IIIA felony.
The drug law further specifies the penalty class for particular drugs such as cocaine, cocaine base (crack), or amphetamines.
Penalties for Manufacturing Cocaine, Crack, Amphetamine, or Methamphetamine
Nebraska’s drug law increases the classification of penalties for cocaine manufacturing. Anyone manufacturing cocaine weighing:
- 140 grams or more commits a Class IB felony which carries up to life in prison with a 20-year minimum sentence;
- 28 grams but less than 140 grams commits a Class IC felony which carries up to 50 years in prison with a five-year mandatory minimum; and
- 10 grams to 28 grams is a Class ID felony that carries up to 50 years in prison with a three-year mandatory minimum sentence.
Manufacturing less than 10 grams is a Class II felony.
The punishment for a Class II felony is a minimum one year of incarceration, but the judge can extend that to up to 50 years in prison depending on other factors we’ve discussed.
The weight of the drugs can be a mixture—it doesn’t need to be pure. The only thing that matters is the presence of a perceptible amount of illicit drugs in the mix.
Therefore, if you’re caught with one gram of cocaine mixed with 150 grams of baking soda, the entire amount counts, and you could be looking at a Class IB felony charge.
Marijuana Penalties
Nebraska law treats marijuana differently than other drugs. Possessing marijuana between one ounce and one pound is a Class II misdemeanor.
Having more than one pound of marijuana is a Class IV felony. A Class IV felony conviction punishment is two years in prison with 12 months of supervised release.
There is no minimum mandatory sentence.
Additional Penalties
The court has the authority to impose additional penalties on a person convicted of drug manufacturing.
The court can order you to forfeit money, securities, firearms, vehicles, and electronic communication equipment connected to manufacturing narcotics.
Also, you cannot possess a gun lawfully, either under state or federal law. You will lose the right to vote.
Finally, anyone who is not a citizen of the U.S. is potentially subject to deportation, exclusion from the U.S., and denial of their naturalization rights.
Harsh Charges Means You Need a Tough Lawyer
Omaha defense attorney Tom Petersen has 20 years of experience in law, and he’s proven just how tough and aggressive he can be.
His clients’ are top priority, so much so that he makes his team available to you around the clock, so your questions can be answered when you need them.
He has handled a full spectrum of criminal cases from minor infractions to the most serious life felonies. He is tough when he needs to be and backs down from no one.
Attorney Petersen offers free, no-obligation initial consultations, so you have nothing to lose by visiting him today.
You can contact Petersen Defense Law at 402-509-8070 to find out how he can help you. Make the right choice and call today.
Attorney Petersen was invited to join the National Advocacy for DUI Defense (NAFDD) organization in 2013. NAFDD vets thousands of lawyers and only chooses those who have achieved stellar results in DUI defense cases. Attorney Petersen was named one of the Top 50 defense attorneys in Nebraska out of more than 5,000.
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