Drug Trafficking Lawyer in Greensboro, NC
Trafficking in North Carolina is decided by weight, not by whether anything was sold. The weight fixes the class, the minimum and the maximum, and your record does not change any of them. If someone is charged, the first two weeks matter more than they will ever matter again.
What is the charge?
Read us the substance and the weight from the paperwork, and tell us whether anyone is in custody.
Sending this form does not make us your lawyer yet.
1. No sale is required. G.S. 90-95(h) reaches anyone who "sells, manufactures, delivers, transports, or possesses" the threshold weight. Possession alone completes the offense. There is no intent to sell element.
2. The mixture is weighed, not the drug. The statute counts "any mixture containing such substance". That is why the weight on the charging paperwork and the weight you would expect are often different.
3. Your prior record does not change the number. A first offender and someone with a long record face the same mandatory sentence for the same weight. Trafficking sits outside the structured sentencing grid.
4. There are exactly two ways below the minimum, and both are findings the judge has to enter. Neither is automatic and neither is a promise. They are set out below.
- The weight thresholds
- What changed for fentanyl in December 2025
- Why probation is off the table
- The two ways below the minimum
- Conspiracy carries the same sentence
- How these cases are actually defended
- State or federal
- How to choose a drug trafficking lawyer in Greensboro
- Your attorney
- What clients say
- Where we practice
- Questions people ask
The weight thresholds
All figures below are read off G.S. 90-95(h). The terms are mandatory, stated in the statute itself rather than taken from a sentencing chart.
Cocaine
| Weight | Class | Mandatory term | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 g or more, less than 200 g | G | 35 to 51 months | not less than $50,000 |
| 200 g or more, less than 400 g | F | 70 to 93 months | not less than $100,000 |
| 400 g or more | D | 175 to 222 months | at least $250,000 |
Methamphetamine
| Weight | Class | Mandatory term | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 g or more, less than 200 g | F | 70 to 93 months | not less than $50,000 |
| 200 g or more, less than 400 g | E | 90 to 120 months | not less than $100,000 |
| 400 g or more | C | 225 to 282 months | at least $250,000 |
Amphetamine is not methamphetamine, and the gap is large. At the same 28 gram entry tier, amphetamine is a Class H felony at 25 to 39 months, while methamphetamine is a Class F at 70 to 93 months. Competitor pages routinely merge the two, and they also cite the repealed subdivision for amphetamine.
Opium, opiates, opioids and heroin
| Weight | Class | Mandatory term | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 g or more, less than 14 g | F | 70 to 93 months | $500,000 for heroin, otherwise not less than $50,000 |
| 14 g or more, less than 28 g | E | 90 to 120 months | $750,000 for heroin, otherwise not less than $100,000 |
| 28 g or more | C | 225 to 282 months | $1,000,000 for heroin, otherwise not less than $500,000 |
Fentanyl and carfentanil
| Weight | Class | Mandatory term | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 g or more, less than 14 g | E | 90 to 120 months | $500,000 |
| 14 g or more, less than 28 g | D | 175 to 222 months | $750,000 |
| 28 g or more | C | 225 to 282 months | $1,000,000 |
Marijuana
| Weight | Class | Mandatory term | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| In excess of 10 lb, less than 50 lb | H | 25 to 39 months | not less than $5,000 |
| 50 lb or more, less than 2,000 lb | G | 35 to 51 months | not less than $25,000 |
| 2,000 lb or more, less than 10,000 lb | F | 70 to 93 months | not less than $50,000 |
| 10,000 lb or more | D | 175 to 222 months | not less than $200,000 |
Note the wording. The statute says “in excess of 10 pounds”. Exactly ten pounds is not trafficking.
LSD, MDMA and MDA, methaqualone, synthetic cannabinoids and substituted cathinones each have their own tiers in the same subsection. If yours is one of those, read us the weight and we will tell you the tier.
What changed for fentanyl in December 2025
This is the single most important recent change, and most pages in this state have not caught up with it.
Fentanyl and carfentanil used to be sentenced inside the opium and heroin tier. Session Law 2025-70 pulled them out into a new subdivision of their own, effective for offenses committed on or after 1 December 2025.
The effect at the entry tier is a full class. Four grams of fentanyl was a Class F felony at 70 to 93 months. It is now a Class E felony at 90 to 120 months, with a flat $500,000 fine rather than a minimum. The same act made simple possession of fentanyl or carfentanil a Class H felony.
The date on your charge decides which version applies. Conduct before 1 December 2025 is governed by the old rates. Any page reproducing the pre-2025 fentanyl table is now wrong by an entire felony class.
Why probation is off the table
G.S. 90-95(h)(5) is blunt about it: except as provided in that subdivision or in the one that follows, a person being sentenced under this subsection may not receive a suspended sentence or be placed on probation.
Three further points follow from the statute and they are usually left out:
- Prior record level does not apply. Subsection (h) applies “notwithstanding any other provision of law”, and each tier states its own minimum and maximum. Structured sentencing gives way where another statute sets the term.
- Extraordinary mitigation is barred by name. G.S. 15A-1340.13(h) excludes drug trafficking and trafficking conspiracy from the relief that is otherwise available in an active-only cell.
- Trafficking sentences run consecutively. Under subdivision (h)(6) a sentence imposed under this subsection runs consecutively with, and begins at the expiration of, any sentence already being served.
Is someone in custody right now?
Trafficking charges carry conditions that are set high and early. Read us the substance and the weight and we will tell you what tier it is and what happens next.
Call (336) 379-0539Free consultation, answered 24/7The two ways below the minimum
Substantial assistance
Under subdivision (h)(5) the sentencing judge may reduce the fine, impose a term below the minimum, or suspend the term and order probation, where the person has “to the best of the person’s knowledge” provided substantial assistance in the identification, arrest or conviction of accomplices, accessories, co-conspirators or principals, and the judge enters a finding of that assistance in the record.
Read it carefully, because this paragraph is overstated more often than any other in North Carolina drug law:
- It is discretionary. The word is may, not shall. Established assistance does not compel relief.
- It needs a finding on the record. No finding, no relief.
- The statute names no moving party. This is the judge’s own power. There is no prosecutor’s motion requirement, unlike the federal system, where a government motion is required. People arrive expecting the federal rule and it does not apply here.
- Nothing is guaranteed. The statute sets no floor, no formula and no entitlement, and it does not require that a conviction result.
The protective words are worth knowing: “to the best of the person’s knowledge” means telling everything you know can count even where it turns out not to be useful. What you say in that conversation, and when, is a decision to make with a lawyer and not before.
The eleven findings route
Subdivision (h)(5a) lets a judge reduce the fine and sentence on the ordinary grid instead, but only after a hearing where the District Attorney can present evidence, and only on record findings that all eleven listed conditions are met. They include accepted responsibility, no prior felony conviction under this statute, no violence or weapon, an admitted substance use disorder and completion of a court-approved treatment program, that the mandatory minimum would be a substantial injustice and is not necessary to protect the public, that the person is being sentenced solely for trafficking by possession, and that the quantity is not greater than the lowest category for that substance.
That last condition is the one that closes the door for most people. If you are above the entry tier, this route is unavailable and substantial assistance is the only one left.
Conspiracy carries the same sentence
G.S. 90-95(i) is one sentence and it surprises people: the penalties in subsection (h) “shall also apply to any person who is convicted of conspiracy to commit any of the offenses described in subsection (h)”.
Conspiracy to traffic is not a class lower, and it is not sentenced on the grid. Same class, same mandatory minimum and maximum, same fine as the completed offense. Someone who never touched the substance can face the identical number.
How these cases are actually defended
Because the weight fixes the sentence, the defense is almost never an argument about what the sentence should be. It is an argument about the evidence.
- The stop and the search. Most trafficking cases begin with a vehicle stop or a warrant. If the evidence came in unlawfully, a motion to suppress ends the case rather than improving it.
- Knowing possession. The State has to prove the possession was knowing. In a shared car, a package, or a house with several occupants, that is frequently the whole case. This is the live defense in most trafficking by possession charges, because the statute does not allow an intent to sell argument.
- The weight itself. What was weighed, how, and whether the laboratory confirms the charging figure. A tier boundary can be a few grams.
- The identity of the substance. A laboratory question with its own timelines, and not a formality.
- The date of the offense, for any fentanyl charge straddling 1 December 2025.
State or federal
The same conduct can be charged in the Middle District of North Carolina, which sits in Greensboro. Federal trafficking runs on its own sentencing system with its own mandatory minimums and no parole, and the route across is often a firearm found alongside the substance.
If federal agents have made contact and no charge has been filed, that is the point of maximum influence on the case. See federal criminal defense and firearm with drugs.
Related: drug charges overview · drug possession · possession with intent to sell · maintaining a dwelling
How to choose a drug trafficking lawyer in Greensboro
No lawyer in North Carolina is permitted to advertise as the best, and a firm
that does is telling you something about how it reads the rules. The State Bar
treats self-laudatory claims as a compliance problem, not a selling point.
So judge on answers instead. Every question below has an exact answer. A firm
that handles these cases every week will give you one on the phone, for free, in
a few minutes. A firm that gives you a brochure answer is telling you something too.
- What weight tier am I in, and how close to the line is it?
The tier fixes the class, the minimum and the maximum. A few grams can be a whole class, so the weight on the lab report is worth more attention than almost anything else. - Is the weight the substance, or the mixture?
The statute counts the mixture. Ask what was actually weighed and whether the lab has confirmed it, because the charging weight and the lab weight are not always the same. - Do my priors change the number?
No, and a firm that says otherwise has not read the statute. The trafficking sentence is fixed by weight. Prior record enters only through one narrow provision. - Is this charged as possession, or as sale and delivery?
It matters, because one of the two statutory exits is limited to people sentenced solely for trafficking by possession. - Was the search lawful?
Most trafficking cases are won on the stop, the search or the question of knowing possession, not on the weight.
Ask us the same questions. (336) 379-0539.
Your attorney
Jason Aycoth
Drug Trafficking · Federal Drug Cases · Suppression Motions
Jason handles criminal cases in state and federal court across North Carolina. He has served as Editor of the True Bill and was Commencement Speaker at Elon Law School's graduation.
- Former President, Greensboro Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
- Elected member, Criminal Justice Section, North Carolina Bar Association
- Selected to present the Wade M. Smith Award for Top Criminal Defense Lawyer in North Carolina
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Where we practice
Our office is two minutes from the Guilford County Courthouse.
Guilford County: Greensboro · High Point · Jamestown · Gibsonville · Summerfield · Oak Ridge · Pleasant Garden · Stokesdale · Whitsett · McLeansville · Sedalia
Also serving: Randolph, Forsyth, Alamance, Rockingham and Davidson Counties
Questions people ask
Do I have to sell anything to be charged with trafficking?
No. G.S. 90-95(h) reaches anyone who sells, manufactures, delivers, transports or possesses the threshold weight. Possession alone completes the offense, and unlike possession with intent to sell there is no intent element. The State must still prove the possession was knowing, and that is where most of these cases are actually fought.
Does my prior record change the sentence?
No. The class, the minimum and the maximum are fixed by weight alone, and subsection (h) applies notwithstanding any other provision of law. A first offender and someone with a long record receive the same trafficking sentence for the same weight. Prior record still matters to plea negotiation and to one narrow statutory provision, but it does not move the number.
Can I get probation on a trafficking charge?
Not on the face of the statute. G.S. 90-95(h)(5) says a person sentenced under this subsection may not receive a suspended sentence or be placed on probation, with two exceptions: substantial assistance, and a separate route requiring eleven findings that is limited to trafficking by possession at the lowest weight tier.
Is the weight the drug or everything it was mixed with?
The statute counts any mixture containing the substance. That is why a charging weight can be far higher than the amount of actual drug involved, and why what was weighed, and how, is worth contesting.
Does substantial assistance guarantee a lower sentence?
No. The statute says the judge may reduce the fine, go below the minimum, or suspend the term, and requires the judge to enter a finding of substantial assistance in the record. It is discretionary, there is no formula and no floor, and no conviction needs to result. It also does not require a prosecutor's motion, which is a difference from the federal system that surprises people.
Is conspiracy to traffic a lesser charge?
No. G.S. 90-95(i) applies the same penalties to a conspiracy conviction. Same class, same mandatory minimum and maximum, same fine as the completed offense.
Did fentanyl sentencing change?
Yes, for offenses committed on or after 1 December 2025. Fentanyl and carfentanil were moved out of the opium and heroin tier into a new subdivision at a higher class. At the four gram entry tier the term went from 70 to 93 months up to 90 to 120 months, with a flat $500,000 fine. The date of the offense decides which version applies to you.
How much marijuana is trafficking in North Carolina?
More than 10 pounds. The statute reads "in excess of 10 pounds", so exactly ten pounds does not meet it. The entry tier runs from over 10 pounds to under 50 pounds and is a Class H felony at 25 to 39 months with a fine of not less than $5,000.
Talk to a Greensboro drug trafficking lawyer
Free consultation. Read us the substance and the weight.
Garrett, Walker, Aycoth & Olson, Attorneys at Law
317 South Greene St, Greensboro, NC 27401
(336) 379-0539 · answered live, 24 hours
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This page explains North Carolina law in general terms as of October 2026. It is not legal advice about your case, and penalties and statutes change. Figures come from N.C.G.S. 90-95(h) and (i) and 15A-1340.13, and Session Law 2025-70. Weight thresholds and mandatory terms are stated in the statute itself.