Drug Distribution

Drug distribution is the offense of transferring, selling or delivering a controlled or prohibited substance to another person, the offense that sits between simple possession and large-scale drug trafficking in most legal systems' graduated treatment of the drug trade, covering everything from an individual small-scale sale to organized street-level dealing. Most statutes distinguish distribution from simple possession by evidence of an actual or intended transfer, commonly inferred from the quantity involved, the presence of packaging or scales, recorded communications arranging a sale, or direct observation of a transaction, and grade the offense more severely as the quantity and organization involved increase. Distribution occurring near a school, playground or other location where children are likely to be present is specifically aggravated in many jurisdictions, reflecting a particular legislative concern with drug sales in proximity to minors regardless of whether any minor was actually involved in the specific transaction. Criminologists studying drug markets treat distribution as the visible retail layer of the trade, the point at which most drug law enforcement activity and arrests actually occur, distinct from the higher-volume trafficking and manufacturing operations further up the same supply chain.