Heroin is made from poppy plants. Milky opium is removed from the poppy flower. The opium is refined to make morphine and further refined into heroin. Many people experiment with heroin without realizing it is much more dangerous than marijuana. People think they can use heroin once and stop whenever they desire. However, heroin is highly addictive and for many people it is impossible to resist. Heroin produces a state of relaxation and euphoria unlike marijuana. Heroin blocks the brain’s ability to feel pain. Heroin has become more popular in the United States due in part to its increased production in Mexico. Mexico is now second only to Afghanistan in heroin production.
Methadone is an opiate that is derived from the opium poppy and is similar to heroin. Methadone is used to reduce and eliminate heroin use by stabilizing heroin addicts and helping them change their lifestyle and embrace sobriety. Methadone is safer than heroin usage because the dosage can be controlled. Methadone programs reduce crime, death and illicit drug use. In the end, Methadone is just a substitute addiction.
If you are charged with possession of any amount of heroin in Kentucky, you are facing serious charges. Despite the serious nature of a heroin charge, your situation is not hopeless. Heroin is a Schedule 1 drug which means you have absolutely no legal therapeutic basis to possess it. Prosecutors in Jefferson County are under pressure to aggressively prosecute anyone charged with a heroin offense. Schedule 1 drugs include; heroin, LSD and ecstasy because they have no accepted medical use and are highly addictive.
I have been successful in helping clients charged with drug offenses (including heroin) by arguing:
Lack of knowledge – In Kentucky the prosecutor must prove you knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently possessed heroin. If I can establish that you accidently had contact with heroin or were unaware “it” was heroin, your case may get dismissed.
Lack of Power or Intent to Control – In cases where you are charged with “constructive possession,” the prosecutor must prove that you intended to “control” the heroin. The prosecutor must prove you had knowledge or awareness that the heroin was located where it was seized. However, even if you knew the heroin was in your house, if you never intended to come in contact with it and you exercised no power or control over the heroin, these circumstances can be the foundation for a successful defense.
Lack of Drug Use – If the prosecutor cannot prove you were a drug user, a defense may exist to allege “some other dude did it.” Police and jurors are very familiar with the outward or physical signs of chronic drug use. Proof that you had legitimate employment and a lifestyle inconsistent with an addict’s life can form a winning case.
Police Misconduct – Narcotic officers are notorious for violating suspects constitutional rights. Many narcotic officers are trained to lie. Police errors exist in every single case. My challenge is to find the police error and police misconduct and exploit it.
