JON'S CELL: It is quite well-known that facing accusations of selling illegal drugs is a very serious situation. But what if the substance a person is alleged to have sold is not actually a drug, but rather a fake drug? Could they still face criminal charges here in Wisconsin?
They could due to Wisconsin’s law on imitation controlled substances. Under this law, it is illegal to sell a non-controlled substance if certain representations are made by the seller to the buyer, such as a representation that the substance being sold actually is a controlled substance.
An imitation controlled substance charge is no minor charge. It is actually a felony charge. Specifically, under state law, it falls into the Class I felony level.
One thing that can be a central issue in cases involving imitation controlled substance charges is whether the accused individual did in fact represent that the substance they allegedly were selling was a controlled substance. As a note, such a representation does not have to be express, it can be implied. So a person would not have to have directly said the substance they were selling was a drug to be found guilty of an imitation controlled substance offense. Given this, there are a range of different types of evidence that could touch on the issue on whether a person made a representation that a non-controlled substance they were selling was a controlled substance.
Evidence collection, review and analysis are among the important services skilled defense lawyers can provide to individuals accused of imitation controlled substance offenses or other drug crimes.
