Drug Crime Attorney in Clarksville, TN

Tennessee Drug Laws and Penalties

One of the first questions that those who come to see us here at Runyon and Runyon following a drug arrest in Clarksville is what sort of penalties could they be facing if convicted. Unfortunately, there is not a simple “one size fits all” answer to that question. If you are arrested for drug possession, the charges and penalties that you may face depend largely on the type of substance you were allegedly found with.

Under Tennessee Code § 39-17-418, a first-time simple drug possession charge is classified as Class A misdemeanor charge. In Tennessee, a Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a $2,500 fine and 12 months in jail.

The law firm of Runyon & Runyon, however, can help. Having been a former police officer and now as a trained lawyer, Mr. Runyon, more than most lawyers, is very familiar with both the building and breaking down of criminal law cases. The firm provides its drug charge defense clients with a uniquely qualified criminal defense practice led by a former narcotics police officer: Frank J. Runyon.

Tennessee Drug Schedules

Under Tennessee law, classifications are assigned by the potential for addiction as well as whether or not a substance has applications in the medical field. These schedules (as shared by Discovery Place) are as follows:

• Schedule I: Drugs with the highest risk or addiction and no approved medical purpose. Examples include heroin and hallucinogens'.
• Schedule II: Drugs with a relatively high risk of abuse and addiction, yet have been approved for certain medical uses. Examples include narcotics, cocaine and methadone, as well as amphetamines and methamphetamines.
• Schedule III: Drugs with a moderate risk of abuse: Examples include ketamine and depressants, along with anabolic steroids and synthetic testosterone.
• Schedule IV: Drugs with numerous medical applications that also carry with them a slight risk of addiction. Examples include prescription benzodiazepines (sedatives).
• Schedule V: Drugs with a very low risk of dependency.

Tennessee also recognizes a Schedule VI and VII, yet these categories are reserved exclusively for marijuana and butyl nitrate (poppers), respectively. Based on the way the state categorizes these substances, you can probably guess that the penalties for allegedly being in possession of a controlled substance are more severe for if said drug is found in Schedule I or II.

Why Choose Runyon and Runyon for Your Drug Crime Case

Clarksville drug lawyer, J. Runyon understands how to find weaknesses in the evidence gathered by the police and even in how they gathered it, correctly or incorrectly. Raising these kinds of Constitutional challenges can often lead to lesser charges with more appropriate punishment or even to the dismissal of the case in its entirety.

Types of Drug Crime Cases We Handle:

• Drug Possession
• Drug Manufacturing
• Drug Distribution
• Drug Trafficking

Specific Drug Possession Cases We Defend:

• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Methamphetamine
• Prescription Drugs
• and More

For more than a quarter of a century, "J." Runyon has been involved in the criminal justice system: 12 years as a police officer and the last 20 as a Clarksville criminal defense attorney. As a police officer from 1985 to 1997, J. Runyon moved from patrol to detective to police Sergeant to serving as the Sergeant over the Vice-Narcotics unit of the Special Operations Division of the Clarksville Police Department.