Innocent behaviors that make you look like a drug dealer

Maybe you use drugs recreationally and police officers want to charge you with distribution or trafficking after they found you with your personal stash. Maybe they didn’t find drugs on you at all but still seem eager to pursue criminal charges.

Any drug charge can be a major blow. A criminal conviction could mean time in jail or future difficulty getting a job. Drug charges related to distribution, trafficking or the intent to distribute often carry far more serious penalties than possession charges do. Unfortunately, some innocent behaviors on your part could help the police build their claim of drug trafficking against you.

You have an active social life

Maybe you frequently go out to talk with friends and neighbors. Perhaps you have regular visits from friends and co-workers at your home.

When police notice you visiting certain places associated with drug trafficking, they may assume you are there for illegal purposes. The same could be true of traffic into your house. While all you really want to do is catch up with your cousin, officers might see frequent visits as evidence of regular drug sales.

You carry cash frequently

Making large purchases in cash can be a good decision. It helps you avoid extra costs. You also don’t have to worry about paying off credit card bills. Unfortunately, the police associate cash transactions with drug sales.

If the police catch you with a large amount of cash on your person, in your car or in your home, they can take that money. Not only could they use civil asset forfeiture to deprive you of your cash, but they could also use it as evidence against you in court.

You have the wrong items in your trash containers

A trash container that you set out on the curb is one of the few things that police can search on your property without a warrant. They might jump to conclusions if you have certain items in your trash. Paint thinner, hydroponic chemical containers, acetone, packages for cold medicine and even boxes of plastic baggies could lead police to suspect illegal drug activity at your home.

Circumstantial evidence and assumptions can lead directly to criminal consequences. Thankfully, whether the police have monitored the traffic in and out of your house or snooped through your trash, you have the right to defend yourself against any drug charges that they bring against you.