Drug Charges

Though prescription drugs are essential for many Iowa residents, they can lead to dangerous situations on the road if they are not taken properly.Iowa law treats prescription drugs the same as other controlled substances, including marijuana and cocaine. Driving with...

Sometimes, all it takes is an accusation. If you're accused of a serious crime, you may be assigned bail that you can't afford. If you can't afford bail, you could be stuck in jail for days or months. You could lose your job, your housing, your child custody rights....

Across the country, police use civil asset forfeiture as a tool in the War on Drugs. When the police deem property or money to be associated with a drug crime, they can seize it. Then, the owner has to prove that the assets were not connected with a crime. If they...

In the 1980s and 1990s, both states and the federal government began to crack down on drug offenses at every level. Fighting drug crime was prioritized. Mandatory minimum sentence laws were passed. Prosecutors began stacking sentences to keep people in prison for...

Right now, Iowa and most jurisdictions deal with drug abuse almost exclusively through law enforcement. If you're caught with a prohibited drug, or one you don't have a prescription for, you can be arrested, charged and convicted of a criminal offense. In most cases,...

In 2018, a Mexican immigrant who had been brought to the U.S. as a teenager was convicted in Iowa of intent to deliver marijuana. During a 2017 traffic stop, officers allegedly found 184 one-pound bags of marijuana and a handgun in his car. Although he claimed he had...

Iowans should never have to choose between saving someone's life or putting themselves in legal jeopardy in the event of a drug overdose. That is the purpose behind the state's Good Samaritan Immunity Law enacted in 2018.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Many people call it a punitive measure or an extra punishment for distributing drugs. If you're caught dealing illegal drugs in Iowa, you may be charged with tax evasion if you didn't obtain excise tax stamps for what you sell. Having the stamps proves you've paid the...

On May 13, 2019, Iowa's governor signed the Iowa Hemp Act. Many supporters saw this as an opportunity for products containing hemp-derived Cannabidiol (CBD) to be manufactured, sold and bought within the state.Months later however, the legality of CBD products remains...

Diversion programs offer a way for people with minimal criminal histories to avoid becoming trapped in the criminal justice system."You don't want to see people make that one mistake in life and have to live with it for the rest of their lives," commented the...