When we talk about the opioid crisis, the conversation normally focuses around heroin. You may not have ever heard of the drug fentanyl before. Despite the lack of conversation, fentanyl was named the top killer drug in Pennsylvania earlier this year. It is time to talk about exactly what the drug is, where it comes from, and why
Category: Drug Defense
DESIGNER AND SYNTHETIC DRUGS
Designer and synthetic drugs remain tremendously popular in many regions of Pennsylvania. The drugs are attractive to users because they offer extreme highs at a lower price. Additionally, some of these synthetic drugs do not register on traditional drug tests. That fact coupled with the drugs’ accessibility leads some to believe that synthetic drugs are
K2 AND BATH SALTS
In 2017, there were 158 reported K2 overdoses in Lancaster, Pennsylvania over the course of just one week. Again, in May 2018, the city experienced an upswing of reported K2 overdoses. In the preceding months, the reported number of K2 overdoses has remained extremely high- occasionally surpassing the number of opioid overdoses reported in the region.
NEW OPIOID LEGISLATION PASSES THROUGH HOUSE
July 25, 2018 | Category: Drug Defense It is no secret that heroin, fentanyl, and other synthetic opioids have greatly impacted our nation’s public health. In both 2016 and 2017, opioid overdoses nearly single-handedly reduced the average American life expectancy. The proliferation of heroin and other, stronger synthetic opioids led to a 21% jump in the
SCHOOL ZONE DRUG DEALING: COURT STRIKES DOWN MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES
Over the summer, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the existing law that imposes mandatory minimum sentencing for anyone charged with delivering or possessing with intent to deliver drugs near a school zone. Originally, the minimum sentence requirement was two years in jail for anyone caught within 1,000 feet of a school. The Supreme Court
MYTHBUSTING #1- POLICE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO REVEAL THEIR IDENTITY. MISUNDERSTANDING “ENTRAPMENT”
As a criminal defense attorney, I have represented countless people charged with crimes ranging from very minor offenses to violent felonies. In almost all cases, I will have to answer questions put to me by my clients about the way they were treated by the police. More often than not, my answers surprise my clients
ARE YOU ALLOWED TO POSSESS MARIJUANA IN PENNSYLVANIA IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD FROM ANOTHER STATE?
Quite simply, the answer is no. While a growing number of US States now permit the use, distribution and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes and a few states, notably Washington and Colorado, have even legalized the recreational use of marijuana, marijuana remains illegal under Pennsylvania law. Furthermore, marijuana remains illegal under Federal law (although
Mythbusting #3- Just Say “No”: You Do Not Have To Consent To A Search
When the police ask me if they can search my person/bag/car/home, do I have to let them? Absolutely not. As a criminal defense attorney here in State College, Pennsylvania, I have represented countless individuals who have been charged with the possession of illegal items found on their person, in bags they were carrying, in their
Heroin On The Rise In Pennsylvania
As a criminal defense attorney working in mostly rural Central Pennsylvania, I am constantly face-to-face with the heroin epidemic that is affecting both cities and small communities around the country. Recently, I was speaking to a Pennsylvania State Police officer about a case in which my client had been charged with the possession of heroin
Mythbusting #2- You Do Not Have To Stop For Police “Just To Talk”
Do I have to stop and talk to police when they ask me to? Yes and no (but often the answer is no) To answer this question, one must be familiar with some basic legal concepts related to the law of “seizure,” a concept derived directly from the text of the Fourth Amendment to the