The statute: Trafficking is manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance at or above a threshold weight set by statute. It is the most serious drug offense in Massachusetts because each weight tier carries a mandatory minimum state prison sentence.
What the Commonwealth must prove:
- The substance was a controlled substance in the class charged.
- The defendant knowingly or intentionally manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or possessed it with intent to distribute.
- The weight of the mixture containing the substance met or exceeded the statutory threshold for the tier charged. (The whole mixture is weighed — not just the pure drug.)
Penalties: Trafficking is charged by weight tier, and every tier carries a mandatory minimum that a judge cannot reduce:
- Cocaine (Class B), § 32E(b): 18–36 grams — mandatory minimum 2 years, maximum 15; 36–100 grams — mandatory minimum 3½ years; 100–200 grams — mandatory minimum 8 years; 200 grams or more — mandatory minimum 12 years.
- Heroin and other Class A substances, § 32E(c): 18–36 grams — mandatory minimum 3½ years; 36–100 grams — mandatory minimum 5 years; 100–200 grams — mandatory minimum 8 years; 200 grams or more — mandatory minimum 12 years.
- Fentanyl, § 32E(c½): trafficking in 10 grams or more carries a mandatory minimum of 3½ years.
- Marijuana, § 32E(a): 50–100 pounds — mandatory minimum 1 year; higher tiers at 100, 2,000, and 10,000 pounds.
In plain English: In a trafficking case, the weight on the lab certificate is often the whole ballgame. A few grams can be the difference between probation and a mandatory decade in state prison, and the judge has no power to go below the mandatory minimum if the Commonwealth proves the weight.
How these cases are defended:
- Attacking the weight: the lab’s weighing methods, scales, sampling, and whether the Commonwealth weighed a mixture the statute actually covers.
- Challenging the search and seizure through a motion to suppress — in trafficking cases, suppression of the drugs usually ends the prosecution.
- Disputing possession and knowledge, particularly where drugs were found in a shared vehicle, home, or package.
- Examining wiretap, GPS, cell-site, and search warrant applications for constitutional defects.
- Negotiating charge reductions below trafficking thresholds where the evidence permits, to avoid mandatory minimums.
This page is general information about Massachusetts law, not legal advice about any specific case. If you are charged with a crime, contact Davis Law Firm, P.C., 132 Lincoln Street, Suite 5L, Boston, MA 02111, (617) 297-4837.
