The consequences of a heroin-related drug conviction can be life-changing. You could lose your job, your professional license, financial aid if you're a student, and your immigration status if you are not a U.S. citizen -- not to mention the criminal penalties that can include jail or prison, and the destruction of your life and family from the addiction.
After being charged with a heroin-related drug crime, it is important to explore all possible defenses, including search and seizure issues, forensic drug analysis and each individual's background and situation as well as treatment options and programs to mitigate the charges or get them dismissed.
If you have been charged with possession of a small amount of heroin for personal use, you may be eligible for a diversion program, Proposition 36 or Drug Court treatment. It may also be possible to get charges reduced or to minimize consequences if unable to resolve the case in another way.
If it appears you possess more heroin than can be used personally, or you are involved in sales, then you are not eligible for some of these dispositions unless we can negotiate a lesser, personal-use possession charge.
The general rule is to not make statements to the police until you discuss your case with an experienced criminal defense lawyer. At Christoph Law Offices, our father-son team has 40-plus years of combined experience in defense of heroin charges. We know what needs to be done and how to do it to achieve the best result in your case.
After being accused of any of these crimes, it's important to contact an attorney immediately.
Proposition 47, approved by California voters in 2014, makes "non-serious, nonviolent crimes" misdemeanors instead of felonies.
Therefore, most heroin possession for personal use charges are now treated as misdemeanors instead of felonies. Even so, being convicted of a heroin possession charge still carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail, registration as a narcotics offender and significant fines as well as other collateral consequences.
On the other hand, possession for sale of heroin is a felony in California and the consequences are much more serious, including up to a 4 year prison commit.
Additionally, like all drug charges, penalties can be greatly enhanced if a firearm was involved or there is a prior drug sales, possession for sale or a drug transportation record.
Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs available today and the most difficult to maintain sobriety. It destroys lives. Heroin addiction can also lead to other criminal acts that result from addicts trying to get money for the next fix.
Many times professional help and medical assistance can have the most long-lasting results in becoming drug-free. There are drugs like methadone and Suboxone that can reduce the severity of withdrawal and aid in treatment and sobriety along with a treatment plan.
Our lawyers have 40-plus years of combined experience handling hundreds of heroin cases in North County and the surrounding area. Let us help you get the best possible result in your heroin case by helping you to address your charges as well as your addiction.
Call to schedule a free consultation with heroin possession defense lawyers from Christoph Law Offices, across from Vista Courts, at 760-659-2149 or contact us online.


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DOCTORS URGED TO AMPUTATE HEALTHY LIMBS
'Transabled' seek acceptance for disabling, self-mutilating acts
'Transabled' 'want to be paralyzed or they want to be blind or deaf'
WND.com
A Canadian university teacher has argued during a radio interview doctors should amputate the limbs of able-bodied, physically healthy individuals who consider themselves "transabled," positing such extreme procedures will help those people feel "empowered."
Clive Baldwin, a Canada Research Chair in Narrative Studies who is an associate professor of social work at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada, says he has interviewed almost 40 people who identify as "transabled."
He told "Aaron Klein Investigative Radio" on Sunday that an amputation may be, in some circumstances, the "best way" to manage the feelings of being "transabled."
Klein's show is broadcast on New York's AM 970 The Answer and Philadelphia's NewsTalk 990 AM.
Baldwin described "transabalism" as "the desire or the need to move from being able-bodied to disabled. Because, the general consensus at the moment is one's body map in one's brain does not align with one's physical body."
"Medical Murder" author Bill Schnoebelen warns how the global elite has usurped the role of the Christian church in the healing of human souls and minds.
He said being "transabled" is not a lifestyle choice but is "very much a deep felt need to become this way because their bodies are wrong."
"So people for example want amputations, or they want to be paralyzed or they want to be blind or deaf. And that misalignment can be very distressing for people."
Klein asked Baldwin whether he thinks "in Western civilization, therefore, doctors should indeed amputate an arm, or a leg or make somebody paralyzed or make somebody blind" to treat "transable" feelings. "Do you think that we should go there?"
Baldwin replied: "After long, hard consideration, yes, that is a medical option to deal with this condition. It's not a decision that is or should be taken lightly but it's one medical option to deal with it."
Baldwin explained that currently "transabalism" is thought to be a condition referred to as body integrity identity disorder for which, he said, there is no known cure.
"So people need to manage those feelings," he continued. "So consequently, an amputation may be, in some circumstances, the best way to manage those feelings."
What do YOU think? Should doctors ax limbs at the request of patients? Sound off in today's WND poll
He said that "transabled" people who have had an amputation "report physical feelings of relief. They feel more confident in themselves. They feel more at home in their bodies. They feel empowered."
Klein said he talked off the record to people who identify as "transabled," but none wanted to come on the radio to speak out publicly.
Baldwin said the majority of the 38 "transabled" people he interviewed for his work "would seek or would want an amputation."
He said, "[I]t's usually a very specific disability that people want. It might be a below left knee amputation. Or a right below elbow amputation. Some people want to be paralyzed. They don't want their legs to work."
Baldwin relayed that one person he interviewed wanted to be blind. He explained some "transabled" people use wheelchairs to manage their feelings.
Klein referred to the reported case of Chloe Jennings-White, an able-bodied Cambridge University educated research scientist now living in Utah and seeking a doctor to help make her paralyzed. She told the U.K. media in 2013 that she attempted to injure herself several times but to no avail.
Jennings-White uses a wheelchair and leg braces and lives the life of a disabled person even though she can walk. She called the feeling of first sitting down in a chair "magical."
She told the media that when she was young she was jealous of disabled kids and envious of an aunt who got into a bike accident and was required to use leg braces.
She said she does use her legs at times, including to go hiking or skiing, sports she said she engages in with hopes the activities will make her paralyzed.
The media even have begun grouping those who consider themselves "Transabled" alongside other groups, such as members of the LGBT community.

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