When we hear the words “mandatory minimums,” most of us think of federal courts, which are notorious for strictly imposed and unreasonable mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted.

In fact, you might assume that if your case is prosecuted at the state level, you don’t have to worry about mandatory minimums at all. Not so much in North Carolina.

Trafficking even relatively small quantities of illicit substances will result in excessive mandatory minimum sentencing that is not subject to parole or probation. This means that even low-level drug offenders spend years in prison.[...]