• Penalties

• Common Defences

Penalties
Penalties for the production and possession of ecstasy, crystal meth or MDA are much more severe than for, say, marijuana growing. It is not unusual for a first offence to result in a minimum federal prison sentence of over 2 years’ duration. A 10 year firearms prohibition will be automatically ordered upon conviction as well.

As with marijuana grow operations, property seized may be subject to forfeiture. Any chemicals seized will of course be destroyed and, in the event of conviction, any lab equipment will be forfeited. Seized money may be subject to forfeiture as proceeds of crime. In some cases, the building or residence itself may be subject to forfeiture as proceeds of crime or “offence-related property”. See Recovery of Seized Property.

Last but not least, if you have a criminal record for a drug-related offence, you will be precluded from visiting the United States.

Common Defences
Issues of search and seizure and evidence of possession feature highly in these cases. Invariably, a pillar of your defence will involve an attack upon the legality of the search. Another may be what evidence exists of your control over or involvement in the operation. Merely because you are found in a residence in which a chemical lab is located or because you live there is not determinative. Furthermore, police and Crown familiarity with chemical laboratories is still relatively low and acquittals can result from inadequate preparation on the part of the Crown Prosecutor or sloppy procedures on the part of the police. Moreover, unlike grow ops, the prosecution has to demonstrate the chemical “pathway” by which a drug was allegedly being manufactured at a given location. Missing ingredients can make securing a conviction difficult for the Crown, particularly where no finished product is seized.

DISCLAIMER
The statement above is not legal advice. It is simply intended to give a very general understanding of this offence and some of the possible issues and defences that might be considered in defending it. For legal advice on ecstasy or methamphetamine labs, click here.