On March 19, 2018, the leader of the free world, President of the United States Donald Trump, called for tougher punishment on drug dealers to finally win the war on drugs, once and for all. In fact, he called for the harshest of all penalties for certain drug crimes—the death penalty for drug dealers or repeat “drug pushers.”
Indeed, the Trump Administration and law enforcement officials have decided, or are pushing for, tougher punishments in regards to drug violations in general. Attorney General Jeff Sessions followed the President by informing Justice Department officials that the death penalty is legal already for certain repeat violators of drug laws.
Sessions has been echoing the President all week, calling for stronger measures against those arrested in relation to drug-related crimes. The ‘Drug War’ is front and center again, a bigger issue for the federal government right now than it has been under any administration since the Reagan Administration declared a U.S. ‘War on Drugs’ in the 1980s.
The modern opioid epidemic along with a relaxed bias towards drugs in the United States, and even the legalization of marijuana in many regions across the U.S., puts citizens on opposing sides. On one hand, the President and the Attorney General want to inflict harsher punishments on people selling drugs, while state and local regulations are easing up. Drug crimes attorneys are in higher demand than ever before.
As Sessions and Trump crack down on offenders, excellent drug crime attorneys are gearing up for loopholes and changes in existing legislation.
The fact is, when the federal government gets tough to control certain problems, in this case, the opioid crisis, many more innocent or borderline individuals get persecuted for lack of proper legal representation or understanding of the nuances of laws.
Drug crime attorneys are paying attention, watching not just the threats and outlines issued by Trump, Sessions, and other federal justice officials, but the proposals that are being made to change existing laws and punishments, such as instituting the death penalty for certain drug crime violators.
Ultimately, this chest thumping by President Trump and Jeff Sessions will result in changes to laws and crime definitions, and the resulting punishments for certain crimes.
For now and the coming uncertain times, it will be best to get a skilled drug crime attorney, criminal defense attorney, or even a good DUI attorney if you even so much as get pulled over while under the influence of marijuana. When it comes to public calls for harsh punishments, even minor violators are better off being safe rather than sorry.
