New Brunswick Drug Charges Lawyers

Almost every drug case in New Brunswick turns on one question: was the search legal? A New Brunswick drug charges lawyer reads the warrant, the traffic stop and the arrest before anything else, because evidence found in breach of the Charter can be excluded, and without the drugs there is no case.

The CDSA Sets Three Charges and the Schedule Sets the Maximum

The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act separates simple possession (s. 4), possession for the purpose of trafficking and trafficking itself (s. 5), and production (s. 7). Which schedule the substance falls in sets the maximum: cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine in Schedule I carry life for trafficking. The difference between possession and possession for the purpose is inferred from quantity, packaging, scales, cash and messages, and the defence is built by challenging that inference. Since 2022 federal prosecution policy directs charges for simple possession only where public safety concerns exist, and diversion is the norm for personal-use amounts.

The Search Is Where a New Brunswick Drug Charges Lawyer Starts

A vehicle stop on Route 2 for a burnt-out light that becomes a search of the trunk, a warrant for an apartment in Moncton based on a confidential informant, and a search of a phone incident to arrest recur in New Brunswick drug files. Each has rules, and police get them wrong often. Sections 8 and 9 of the Charter, unreasonable search and arbitrary detention, are argued at a pre-trial application, and under s. 24(2) evidence obtained in breach is excluded where admitting it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute. A New Brunswick drug charges lawyer gets the full disclosure, the informant privilege rulings and the officers’ notes before advising whether to plead.

The Crown’s Election Sets the Court

Possession for the purpose and trafficking are indictable when the Crown proceeds that way, which gives the accused the election between the Provincial Court of New Brunswick and the Court of King’s Bench, judge alone or with a jury. Simple possession is usually summary and stays in Provincial Court. Federal Crown prosecutors, not the province, conduct CDSA cases in New Brunswick.

Trafficking in a Hard Drug Means Jail

Trafficking in a hard drug in New Brunswick normally means jail. The Court of Appeal has set ranges for fentanyl and cocaine, and trial judges follow them. A first-time possessor of a small amount is more likely to see a discharge or diversion. Where a mandatory minimum still applies, defence lawyers have struck it down in several provinces, and we argue the same challenge here. For a permanent resident the immigration consequences can be worse than the sentence. We look at them before any plea.

The Moncton office and the Saint John office defend drug charges across the province.

The Drugs Were in a Car I Was in but Were Not Mine.

Possession requires knowledge and control. Presence in a car is not possession, and the Crown must prove more than proximity. This is a common defence and a good one on the right facts.

Police Searched My Phone. Can They?

Only within limits set by the Supreme Court of Canada, and only for a purpose connected to the arrest, with notes taken. A search that went further is challenged.

Will I Go to Jail for a First Trafficking Charge?

For a small amount of cannabis or a Schedule III drug, often not. For cocaine or fentanyl, the starting point in this province is custody, and the work is in the quantity, the role and the circumstances.

Can a Drug Conviction Stop Me Travelling to the United States?

Yes. A CDSA conviction is a ground of inadmissibility, and a discharge is treated differently from a conviction. Ask before pleading, not after.

Read the firm’s drug charges guide and trafficking versus possession in New Brunswick. Other criminal areas are under injury law areas.