You were spending time with a few friends and contributed drugs to the gathering. Maybe you and your friends wanted to try psychedelic mushrooms together, and you were the one who happened to know a dealer who could sell you some. Or perhaps you had the opportunity to pick up some MDMA for the first time since college and wanted to share. Something went wrong that night, and you got arrested. You appear in court the next morning, expecting to be charged with simple possession or maybe some form of public intoxication, depending on what happened. You are shocked when the judge tells you that you have been charged with felony delivery of a controlled substance. The first thing you should do is contact a Cook County, IL drug crimes attorney.
What Delivery of a Controlled Substance Means
This felony offense is extremely literal. Although most people would think that those charged with drug distribution are drug dealers – people who habitually sell illicit substances to others for profit – the legal definition is not so limited. In Illinois, you can be charged with delivery of a controlled substance for providing any controlled substance to another person, whether or not money is exchanged. That means even giving a friend a single dose of an illicit or controlled substance can get you charged with distribution.