Drug possession is the crime of having one or more illegal drugs in one's possession, either for personal use, distribution, sale or otherwise. Illegal drugs fall into different categories and sentences vary depending on the amount, type of drug, circumstances, and jurisdiction. A person has possession of drugs if he or she has actual physical control of the drugs (they have the drugs in their hands) or if the drugs are on that person. A person also has possession of drugs if he or she has the power and intent to control their disposition and use.
In the United States, the penalty for illegal drug possession and sale can vary from a small fine to a prison sentence. In some states, marijuana possession is considered to be a petty offense, with the penalty being comparable to that of a speeding violation. Generally, however, drug possession is an arrestable offense, with repercussions including large fines and possible incarceration or probation.
In Singapore, 70% of executions are for drug-related offenses, which encompasses drug possession. There is a national drug control law known as the Misuse of Drugs Act used to assess and determine drug trafficking. Drug possession can account for imprisonment, caning and capital punishment, based on the amount of controlled drugs a person possesses.
Famous quotes containing the words drug and/or possession:
“Upon entering my vein, the drug would start a warm edge that would surge along until the brain consumed it in a gentle explosion. It began in the back of the neck and rose rapidly until I felt such pleasure that the world sympathizing took on a soft, lofty appeal.”
—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon)
“Virtue and vice suppose the freedom to choose between good and evil; but what can be the morals of a woman who is not even in possession of herself, who has nothing of her own, and who all her life has been trained to extricate herself from the arbitrary by ruse, from constraint by using her charms?... As long as she is subject to man’s yoke or to prejudice, as long as she receives no professional education, as long as she is deprived of her civil rights, there can be no moral law for her!”
—Flora Tristan (1803–1844)