In the age of the internet, everything is available at your fingertips. You can order anything online and have it conveniently shipped to your home. Some people are so comfortable receiving packages that they will mail or have mailed just about anything to them – including illegal drugs.

Sending certain substances through the mail, and receiving them, can have severe consequences for people in most parts of the country, including North Carolina. If you break the law, you can have a long-lasting negative impact on your life. Here’s what you need to know about mailing drugs in North Carolina and how it can affect your life.

Drugs in the Mail

When you send drugs through the mail you are not only opening yourself up to scrutiny from the police in the state of North Carolina but also the federal government. Local police and federal investigators are on high alert for illegal substances sent through the mail due to the present opioid crisis in this country.

Some people believe that the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is on their side and that their packages cannot be opened at the post office. That’s not entirely true. In most cases, a postal worker cannot open a package and search for illegal items, but they can inspect a package and get a warrant to search it based on the reasonable belief that something illegal is inside.

If you’re wondering about private carriers like UPS or FedEx, know they are also on the lookout for suspicious packages that may include drugs or other items deemed illegal. If they fail to properly tax an item from out of the country or otherwise expose themselves to liability for illegal substances, they can be obligated to pay fines to the federal government. Private Carriers are not government entities, therefore they are under no obligation to follow the law and get a search warrant. They can simply open any package that is mailed through them.

Sending Controlled Substances in the Mail

It’s always illegal to mail a controlled substance, whether it’s through the United States Postal service or another company. It’s against the law in North Carolina and the United States to send any type of drug through the mail, even drugs that may be legal in some places such as marijuana. Even drugs will valid prescriptions have limitations on their legality.

Only a person with a license, such as a pharmacist, can send prescriptions through the mail, and they can only send them to someone who has a valid prescription for it.

Receiving Controlled Substances Through the Mail

Just as it’s illegal to mail controlled substances, it’s also illegal to receive them. If you are aware that the package you accept has drugs in it, or some other substance that is banned, you can also face the same consequences as the person who mailed the package.

Penalties for Mailing Controlled Substances

If you send illegal or controlled substances through the United States Postal Service or across state lines, you will face criminal charges. You will be charged in North Carolina, and at the federal level as well. Federal courts typically have much harsher penalties for this type of crime.

There are a variety of factors that influence the penalties you can face at the state and federal levels. Especially when it pertains to mailing controlled substances. The type of drug mailed and the amount shipped, along with your criminal history will all play a role.

Engaging in the shipping of controlled substances can even go so far as to land you a drug trafficking charge as well as a drug possession charge. In North Carolina, if you mail or receive through the mail a schedule I substance, then you can face felony charges resulting in up to five years in prison for possession and up to 10 years for trafficking. Drugs lower on the schedule, such as Schedule IV drugs like Valium or barbiturates, can send you to prison for up to five years if you have the max amount for drug possession. For drug trafficking those substances, you can face up to five years in prison.

As you can see, sending drugs through the mail can be a serious breach of the law. If you are facing charges associated with it, then you should meet with an experienced attorney as soon as possible to understand your rights and your options.