Drug Offenses
10 articles on drug offenses from Gavel Daily.
Meg's Law Makes Nitrous Oxide a Felony for Florida Smoke Shops on October 1, and Xylazine Trafficking Starts at 28 Grams
Florida's CS/SB 432 takes effect October 1, 2026. It does not make whippits a felony for consumers, and nitrous oxide was never unregulated: more than 16 grams has been a third-degree felony since 2001. What changed is narrower and harsher, and the same act opens two separate xylazine exposures that most coverage has merged into one.
South Carolina Just Sent a Man to Prison for 30 Years for Selling the Drug, Not Taking It: The First Conviction Under the Fentanyl-Induced Homicide Act
Bradford Wayne Jovanelly pleaded guilty in Lexington County and drew the 30-year maximum, the first conviction under South Carolina's Fentanyl-Induced Homicide Act. Here is what the state actually has to prove, why the decedent's own drug use is off the table as a defense, and why the widely repeated "didn't know it was fentanyl" exemption is not in the enacted law.
Medical Marijuana Is Schedule III and Recreational Marijuana Is Still Schedule I: The Two-Tier Federal Drug Law Nobody Explained
A April 2026 Justice Department order moved FDA-approved marijuana products and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III while leaving everything else in Schedule I. A separate DEA hearing on broader rescheduling closed July 15, 2026, with post-hearing briefs due August 17. Here is what the split actually changes under 21 U.S.C. 841, and what it does not.
The Hemp Gummy in Your Cabinet Becomes a Schedule I Drug on November 12: The Federal Ban That Recriminalizes Most of the Market
A hemp gummy that is legal today can become a Schedule I controlled substance on November 12, 2026. A one-year fuse lit by H.R. 5371 rewrites the federal definition of hemp and pushes delta-8, THCA flower, and most edibles back under the drug laws. Here is what changed, who is exposed, and what survives.
The Broken Taillight Stop Is Dying: Los Angeles Moves to Ban Pretextual Traffic Stops, and It Changes How Drug and Gun Cases Begin
On May 6, 2026, the Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 to move toward barring the LAPD from making pretextual traffic stops for minor, non-safety violations. Here is what the vote actually does, why the Whren doctrine still controls the courtroom, and why breaking the new rule usually will not get drug or gun evidence thrown out in California.
Medical Marijuana Just Became Schedule III While Everything Else Stays With Heroin: The Split That Goes on Trial at the DEA's June 29 Hearing
On April 28, 2026, the federal government split marijuana in two. FDA-approved products and state-licensed medical cannabis dropped to Schedule III, while recreational, bulk, and unlicensed marijuana stayed in Schedule I next to heroin. A DEA hearing opening June 29 will test whether that line holds. Here is what it means if you are facing charges.
The HALT Fentanyl Act Made an Entire Class of Drugs Schedule I Forever. The 10-Year Mandatory Minimum Almost No One Saw Coming
On July 16, 2025, the HALT Fentanyl Act permanently placed an entire class of fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I. The structural change matters more than the headline: prosecutors no longer have to prove a specific compound is a controlled drug, and 100 grams of a mixture now carries a 10-year federal mandatory minimum.
Drug-Induced Homicide Charges Are Exploding in 2026: Why Sharing a Single Fentanyl Pill Now Triggers a Murder Indictment
Prosecutors across the country are increasingly using drug-induced homicide and 'death by distribution' statutes to charge friends, partners, and co-users who handed over a single fentanyl pill. Here is how the laws work, why federal causation doctrine is the central battleground, and what defendants need to know.
Marijuana Just Moved to Schedule III. Here Is Why It Will Not Erase a Single Conviction or Drop a Single Charge
The April 2026 order moving FDA-approved and state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III is narrow and forward-looking. It does not expunge convictions, drop pending charges, or lower the quantity-based mandatory minimums in federal trafficking law.
Fentanyl Drug-Induced Homicide Prosecutions Are Charging Users as Murderers: Why Defense Lawyers Are Beating Causation in 2026
Drug-induced homicide prosecutions have surged in the fentanyl era, with 31 states and DC now authorizing some form of homicide charge for fatal overdoses. Defense lawyers in 2026 are increasingly winning these cases by attacking causation under Burrage v. United States, where mixed-drug toxicology routinely defeats but-for proof.