Little Rock Drug Crime Defense Attorney

An Arkansas drug charge can range from a misdemeanor for a small amount of marijuana to a Class Y or unclassified felony carrying decades in prison. The substance, aggregate weight, alleged purpose, and prior record all matter. Possession is not the same charge as possession with purpose to deliver, and the State does not have to prove an actual sale to allege trafficking at the statutory weight.

At Wesley Rhodes, Attorney at Law, Wesley Rhodes represents people facing drug charges in Little Rock and surrounding Central Arkansas counties. He has practiced criminal defense since 2016. The defense starts with the exact charge, the substance and weight the State can establish, your connection to the drugs, and the legality of the search. See criminal defense representation in Arkansas.

Drug Charges We Defend In Arkansas

Arkansas separates drug offenses by conduct as well as substance. An arrest report may use a general phrase such as “drug possession,” but the charging instrument controls what the State must prove.

Arkansas Drug Possession Penalties By Substance And Weight

The statute generally measures aggregate weight, including adulterants and diluents, rather than only the pure controlled substance. The packaging itself is not part of the drug mixture. The table summarizes ordinary possession, not purpose to deliver or trafficking. The charged weight and legal substance identity should be checked against laboratory evidence.

Ark. Code §§ 5-64-419(b)-(c), 5-64-421(a), and 5-64-440. Section 5-64-419 increases the offense by one classification when committed by an inmate in a listed detention facility. Bring prescription or medical-marijuana documentation so counsel can check whether it authorizes the substance and conduct alleged.

Fentanyl has specific exceptions. A valid prescription combined with lawful use is an affirmative defense to fentanyl possession under § 5-64-421(a). Section 5-64-421(h) directs that unlawful possession of paraphernalia containing fentanyl residue not be charged under that section; it may instead be charged under the paraphernalia statute, § 5-64-443.

Purpose To Deliver And Trafficking Are Different From Simple Possession

For methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine, § 5-64-420 makes possession with purpose to deliver a Class C felony under 2 g, a Class B felony from 2 g to under 10 g, and a Class A felony from 10 g to under 200 g. The State must prove purpose, not merely repeat an officer’s description of the quantity as “dealer amount.” Packaging, a scale, electronic communications, financial records, other drugs, a firearm in immediate physical control, and the whole context may be relevant. Fentanyl purpose-to-deliver under § 5-64-421(b) is a Class A felony.

Under § 5-64-440, trafficking starts at 200 g of methamphetamine, heroin, or cocaine; 1 g of fentanyl; or 500 pounds of Schedule VI marijuana. The statute includes other schedules and amounts. Non-fentanyl trafficking is a Class Y felony. Fentanyl trafficking is an unclassified felony carrying 25 to 60 years or life and a $1 million fine. A defendant can be charged based on possession at the trafficking weight without proof of a completed transaction.

Lab records can be decisive at a cutoff. Questions include whether the State weighed packaging, combined samples appropriately, established the identity of mixed substances, and maintained an adequate chain of custody. A defect must be evaluated for its actual effect on admissibility or proof; it does not automatically defeat the charge. See how Arkansas determines drug weight.

Drug Paraphernalia Can Be A Felony Even Without Manufacturing

Under § 5-64-443(a), possessing paraphernalia with the purpose to use it for unlawful ingestion, concealment, storage, or weighing of a controlled substance is ordinarily a Class A misdemeanor. But subsection (a)(2) makes it a Class D felony when the substance is methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine and the person has a previous conviction for violating the Arkansas Controlled Substances Act. The State must prove both additional conditions.

Subsection (b) separately addresses paraphernalia used or intended for planting, manufacturing, processing, preparing, testing, or packing controlled substances. That category is a Class D felony, elevated to Class B for methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, or cocaine. Under subsection (c), when the same conduct establishes multiple violations of § 5-64-443, there may be only one conviction under that section. The item’s condition, associated substance, intended purpose, and any asserted previous conviction matter. See Arkansas drug paraphernalia charges.

Simultaneous Possession Of Drugs And A Firearm

Section 5-74-106 can add a Class Y felony to a qualifying felony drug case when the accused also possesses a firearm or other weapon covered by the statute. The State must establish possession and a connection between the firearm and drug offense; drugs and a gun simply being found at one address do not answer the entire question. A gun belonging to another occupant, the physical location of the items, access to each, and the underlying drug felony can be important.

The statute provides a specific defense when the defendant was in his or her home and the firearm was not readily accessible for use. That is not a blanket exemption for every gun kept in a house. Both parts of that defense must be satisfied. See Arkansas firearm charges.

Constructive Possession In Cars And Shared Homes

Drugs need not be found in a person’s hand or pocket. Arkansas recognizes constructive possession when the evidence establishes knowledge of the contraband and control over it. But proximity or presence in a jointly occupied location is not enough without additional connecting circumstances. Courts consider such things as where the drugs were found, access and control of the space, visibility, belongings, admissions, and conduct. None creates an automatic outcome.

In a rental car, shared apartment, or guest bedroom, the important details include who had keys, where personal property was kept, whether someone else had exclusive access, and what police actually observed. In Parris v. State, 2026 Ark. 5, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a conviction involving a bag of drugs and a gun found along a chase route. The surrounding circumstances linked the bag to the defendant even without fingerprints or an officer seeing him discard it. Public accessibility alone did not defeat possession. See constructive possession in Arkansas.

Searches, Informants, Controlled Buys, And Laboratory Evidence

Arkansas Rule of Criminal Procedure 16.2 generally requires a suppression motion no later than ten days before trial, with a good-cause exception for late filing. A violation of a procedural search rule supports exclusion only when substantial or when the Constitution otherwise requires it; good-faith and other exceptions may apply. Suppression of an important item can change the State’s proof but does not automatically dismiss the case. See illegal searches and seizures, drug-dog searches, and criminal discovery.

Sentencing Ranges And Release Eligibility Depend On The Offense Date

Ordinary Arkansas felony imprisonment ranges are Class D: up to 6 years; Class C: 3 to 10 years; Class B: 5 to 20 years; Class A: 6 to 30 years; and Class Y: 10 to 40 years or life. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to one year in jail. Unclassified drug felonies have their own penalties. These ranges do not account for habitual-offender enhancements or decide whether probation is available. (Ark. Code § 5-4-401.)

The date the offense was committed matters, not merely the sentencing date. The 2024 no-parole rule and the 2025 earned-release framework are separate provisions. Neither makes every drug felony an 85% or 100% offense.

Ark. Code §§ 16-93-609(d), 16-93-1801, 16-93-1802, and 16-93-1803. The listed categories also cover attempts, solicitations, and conspiracies to commit their listed offenses.

For a 2025-or-later restricted-release felony, a previous conviction for a restricted-release felony or a no-credit felony requires 100% service under § 16-93-1803(c). Without that qualifying prior, credits still must be earned; the 15% ceiling is not an automatic reduction or a promise of release at 85%. Ordinary possession and purpose-to-deliver charges do not enter these named categories merely because they are felonies.

Older drug cases require their own calculation. For example, § 16-93-618 covers certain pre-2025 methamphetamine offenses and provides particular good-time rules, subject to stricter applicable provisions. Do not substitute a generic 70%, 85%, or 100% estimate for the exact statute, offense date, prior record, and sentencing order. A separate Class B prohibited-person firearm conviction also carries its own no-parole rule for conduct after April 27, 2021, under § 16-93-609(c).

The newer 85% requirement does not apply retroactively just because sentencing occurs in 2025 or later. Release eligibility is also separate from the court’s authority to impose probation or another lawful alternative. See Arkansas parole and release eligibility and the Protect Arkansas Act.

Federal Drug Charges And Their Different Rules

Federal distribution and manufacturing cases can arise under 21 U.S.C. § 841; attempts and conspiracies under § 846 carry the penalties of the underlying offense. Quantity, substance, qualifying prior convictions, and whether death or serious bodily injury resulted can change the statutory sentence. Federal law also distinguishes actual methamphetamine from a mixture containing it. Arkansas felony classifications and release percentages do not determine a federal sentence.

Drug Court, First-Offender Options, And Record Sealing

For an eligible person and offense, alternatives may include a negotiated plea, probation or suspended imposition of sentence when lawful, a qualifying Act 346 disposition before adjudication, or specialty court. No program is automatic, and completing an ordinary probation sentence does not itself dismiss a conviction. Act 346 requires no previous felony conviction, no prior use of the Act, an eligible disposition, and a guilty or no-contest plea before adjudication. The court need not grant it. Bring prior sentencing and sealing orders so eligibility can be checked before a plea. (Ark. Code §§ 16-93-302 and 16-93-303.)

Arkansas law includes separate sealing routes for eligible nonconvictions, misdemeanors, nonviolent felonies, Act 346 dismissals, and qualifying specialty-court cases. Section 16-90-1602, added in 2025, allows qualifying specialty-court dismissal and sealing after successful completion with prosecutorial recommendation and judicial approval, without the ordinary numerical limit on prior felony convictions. Other statutory exclusions can still matter. A sealing order is not the same as destruction of the record or automatic restoration of firearm rights. See Arkansas record sealing and diversion and deferred disposition.

What To Do After A Drug Arrest

• Preserve every court and bond document. Identify the exact statute, court date, and conditions; do not assume an initial arrest label is the final filed charge.
• Keep complete videos and communications. Store original footage, messages, receipts, and the names of firsthand witnesses rather than screenshots without context.
• Document where each item was found. Access to rooms, cars, containers, phones, and property belonging to others can matter for constructive possession and search authority.
• Request and review underlying test information through counsel. The charged aggregate weight and chemical identification can change classification, especially near a threshold.
• Protect deadlines. Preserve search issues before motion deadlines, follow release conditions, and do not communicate with protected witnesses or try to arrange anyone’s testimony.

Drug Crime Defense With Wesley Rhodes

For possession, trafficking, paraphernalia, or related drug charges in Little Rock and surrounding Central Arkansas counties, call 501-301-4591 or contact us online for a free consultation.

This page reflects Arkansas law as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your specific case.