Nevada Revised Statute § 453.321 makes it a crime to “import, transport, sell, exchange, barter, supply, prescribe, dispense, give away or administer a controlled or counterfeit substance.”
Transportation of a controlled substance is a crime in Nevada that gets punished just as harshly as selling drugs. But judges can grant probation instead of a prison sentence for a first-time offense.
A transportation charge can be dismissed if the D.A. cannot prove you knew the drugs were there or if the police found them through an illegal search.
In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:
- 1. Can I go to prison for transporting drugs in Nevada?
- 2. When is transportation charged as trafficking?
- 3. How can I fight the charges?
- 4. Related drug crimes
1. Can I go to prison for transporting drugs in Nevada?
Nevada penalties for transporting controlled substances depend on the type of drug and whether you have prior convictions.
Transporting schedule I and II drugs
| Transporting Schedule I or II drugs | Nevada penalties |
| First offense |
The judge may grant probation instead of prison. |
| Second offense |
|
| Third offense or subsequent offense | Category B felony:
|
Common examples of schedule I drugs include marijuana, heroin, LSD, GHB, peyote, ecstasy, and PCP.
Common examples of schedule II drugs include cocaine, codeine, hydrocodone, methamphetamine, and OxyContin (an opiate).
Transporting schedule III, IV, and IV drugs
| Transporting Schedule III, IV, or V drugs | Nevada penalties |
| First offense |
The judge may grant probation instead of prison. |
| Second offense | Category C felony:
|
| Third offense or subsequent offense | Category B felony:
|
Common examples of schedule III drugs include Vicodin and anabolic steroids.
Common examples of schedule IV drugs include Ambien, Xanax, Rohypnol (flunitrazepam), and Valium.
Common examples of schedule V drugs include Robitussin AC, Motofen and Lomotil.
Nevada law makes it a serious offense to transport illegal drugs by motor vehicle, boat, plane, or railway.
2. When is transportation charged as trafficking?
Transporting controlled substances is prosecuted as the more serious crime of drug trafficking when the narcotics are:
- At least 100 grams of schedule I drugs (not including marijuana), schedule II drugs, GHB or Rohypnol; or
- At least 50 pounds of marijuana.
Trafficking Schedule I drugs (not including marijuana), Schedule II drugs, GBH or Rohypnol
| Weight of trafficked drugs | Nevada penalties |
| 100 to less than 400 grams (“Low-level trafficking”) | Category B felony:
|
| 400 grams or more (“High-level trafficking”) |
|
See our related article on drug trafficking under federal law.
Trafficking marijuana
| Weight of trafficked marijuana | Nevada penalties |
| 50 lbs. to less than 1,000 lbs (or 1 lb. to less than 20 lbs. of concentrated cannabis) | Category C felony:
|
| 1,000 lbs. to less than 5,000 lbs. (or 20 lbs. to less than 100 lbs. of concentrated cannabis) | Category B felony:
|
| 5,000 lbs. or more (or 100 lbs. or more of concentrated cannabis) | Category A felony:
|
See our related articles on Nevada marijuana trafficking laws and marijuana trafficking under federal law.
3. How can I fight the charges?
Three possible defenses to Nevada drug transportation charges are:
- No knowledge: You cannot be guilty of transportation if you did not know the drugs were there. For example if a friend leaves cocaine in your car and you do not know it is there, you have committed no crime when you then drive the car.4
- Illegal search: If law enforcement executed an invalid search warrant or warrantless search to find the drugs, your defense attorney may ask the court to exclude the drugs from evidence. If the judge agrees, your case could be thrown out for lack of proof.
- You legally had the drugs. You can travel with prescription drugs for which you have a current and valid medical use prescription. And if you purchase recreational marijuana at a dispensary, the police should not cite you for driving it home. (Just be sure not to drive with an open container of marijuana.)
The prosecution has the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that drug transportation took place in order for you to be found guilty. If the only “proof” is a police officer’s eyewitness account, your attorney may question their credibility on the witness stand in an effort to raise that reasonable doubt.
Transporting certain drugs in large quantities is prosecuted as the more serious drug offense of trafficking.
4. Related drug crimes
- Possession of a controlled substances (NRS 453.336): Possession of drugs for personal use is typically a felony under Nevada state law. But a first-time offense can usually be dismissed with no prison time by doing Las Vegas Drug Court.
- Possession of controlled substances with intent to sell (NRS 453.337 & 453.338): Possession of drugs with the intent to sell them is a felony even if the drugs never get sold. A first offense is typically probationable without prison.
- Selling controlled substances (NRS 453.321). Selling drugs is punished the same as transporting them.
- Drug paraphernalia (NRS 453.560 – NRS 453.566): Simple possession of drug paraphernalia is a misdemeanor, but selling drug paraphernalia is an automatic felony.
Legal References
- Uniform Controlled Substances Act. NRS 453.321.
- NRS 453.3385.
- NRS 453.339.
- See also Dent v. State, (1996) 112 Nev. 1365, 929 P.2d 891, 112 Nev. Adv. Rep. 164. See also Paige v. State, (2000) 116 Nev. 206, 995 P.2d 1020, 116 Nev. Adv. Rep. 21.