Sean P. Quinlan, Esq. monogramSean P. Quinlan, Esq.

Criminal Defense · Drug Possession

Drug Possession Lawyer in Pennsylvania.

A simple possession charge in Pennsylvania is not a small thing — it carries jail exposure and a record that follows you through every job and housing application. One piece of good news: since 2019 a simple possession conviction no longer suspends your driver's license. And many first-time possession cases can be resolved without a conviction, depending on the facts.

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How Pennsylvania grades it

Drug Possession Defense in Pennsylvania.

Simple possession is an ungraded misdemeanor (up to 1 year); small-amount marijuana under (a)(31) is capped at 30 days; possession with intent to deliver is a felony graded by drug and weight.

Statute: 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16), (a)(31), (a)(32)

ARD & diversion

First-time possession is one of the most commonly ARD-approved charges in Central Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania ARD program · ARD eligibility quiz

Drug Possession Defense: offense grading and maximum exposure under 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16), (a)(31), (a)(32)
Offense & gradingMaximum exposure

Small amount of marijuana — § 780-113(a)(31)

Personal-use quantities (30g or less). Almost always resolvable without a conviction.

Up to 30 days jail, $500 fine

Simple possession — § 780-113(a)(16)

Ungraded misdemeanor. A conviction after a prior conviction under the Act has become final raises the maximum to 3 years and the fine to $25,000 under § 780-113(b) — still a misdemeanor, not a felony. The doubling provision in § 780-115 applies only to repeat delivery or PWID convictions under § 780-113(a)(30).

Up to 1 year jail, $5,000 fine

Paraphernalia — § 780-113(a)(32)

Often charged alongside possession; frequently the easiest count to negotiate away.

Up to 1 year jail, $2,500 fine

Possession with intent to deliver (PWID)

Weight, packaging, scales, and text messages drive the grading. Very different defense posture.

Felony — up to 15 years depending on substance

Maximums are statutory ceilings, not expected sentences. Actual outcomes depend on prior record score, offense gravity score, and county practice.

How we defend drug possession cases.

  • Attack the stop and the search

    Most possession cases live and die on the Fourth Amendment. No reasonable suspicion, an unlawful car search, or a bad consent = suppression, and suppression usually ends the case.

  • Challenge constructive possession

    Drugs found in a shared car or apartment are not automatically yours. The Commonwealth must prove you knew about them and had the power to control them.

  • Test the lab work

    Weight, substance identity, and chain of custody are all provable elements. Lab reports get amended and re-weighed more often than people expect.

  • Pursue ARD or a diversionary program

    First-time possession is a core ARD case in Dauphin, Cumberland, York, and Adams counties — no conviction and expungement on completion.

  • Know what your license is really exposed to

    A Pennsylvania simple possession conviction no longer suspends your operating privilege — Act 95 of 2018 removed controlled-substance convictions from 75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(c), effective April 2019. Other routes still reach your license. A DUI conviction under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802, including a drug DUI under § 3802(d). A chemical-test refusal under § 1547. And on a felony drug charge, a one-year suspension under § 1532(a)(1) if the sentencing court determines that a vehicle was essentially involved — a finding the court has to make, not an automatic consequence — and, for commercial drivers, a one-year disqualification under § 1611(a)(5) for a first such violation or — in its place, and turning on the use of the vehicle rather than that finding — a lifetime one under § 1611(e) for using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony involving manufacturing, distributing or dispensing a controlled substance or possession with intent to do so. We plan the disposition around those, not around the possession count.

  • Address treatment early

    A documented evaluation and treatment plan before the preliminary hearing changes how a DA screens the case for diversion.

Where we appear

Drug Possession defense across Central Pennsylvania.

Attorney Quinlan appears in the magisterial district courts and Courts of Common Pleas in Dauphin, Cumberland, York, and Adams counties. Start with your city:

Other charges we defend.

Related: Pennsylvania drug charges overview · PWID lawyer · drug court & diversion programs · Pennsylvania criminal defense overview · DUI defense · expungement in Dauphin County.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Common questions about drug possession charges in Pennsylvania — grading, penalties, diversion, and record consequences.

  • Almost never for a genuine first offense with a personal-use quantity. The realistic outcomes are ARD, a diversionary program, or probation. The bigger risk is the criminal record itself — a simple possession conviction no longer carries a Pennsylvania license suspension, but the record does follow you through background checks until it is expunged or sealed.

  • Not for simple possession, and not since 2019. Act 95 of 2018 removed controlled-substance convictions from 75 Pa.C.S. § 1532(c), effective in 180 days from its October 24, 2018 approval, or approximately April 22, 2019. Before that, a drug conviction carried a PennDOT suspension even when no vehicle was involved; § 1532(c) now reaches only a terroristic-threats offense under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2706 committed on or against school property by a person 21 or younger. Several narrower routes survive. A DUI conviction under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802, including a drug DUI under § 3802(d). A chemical-test refusal under § 1547. And on a felony drug charge — delivery and possession with intent to deliver are felonies under 35 P.S. § 780-113(f), except at Schedule V — a one-year suspension under § 1532(a)(1) if the sentencing court determines that a vehicle was essentially involved. For a commercial driver the two CDL provisions are alternatives, not additions. Section 1611(a)(5) imposes a one-year disqualification for a first violation consisting of such a felony committed while the person was a commercial driver, except where § 1611(e) applies instead. Section 1611(e) imposes lifetime disqualification, with no exceptions or reductions, on anyone convicted of using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony involving the manufacture, distribution or dispensing of a controlled substance, or possession with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense, where he held a CDL at the time or the vehicle was a commercial motor vehicle — and it turns on that use of the vehicle, not on a court's "essentially involved" finding. None of those attaches to a simple possession conviction standing alone.

  • Yes. Charges resolved through ARD are expunged on completion. Dismissals, withdrawals, and acquittals are expungeable immediately. Many misdemeanor convictions are eligible for sealing under the Clean Slate Act after 10 years without re-offense.

  • Yes. Recreational marijuana is not legal in Pennsylvania. Medical marijuana is legal for registered patients, but possession outside the program remains chargeable — 30 grams or less under § 780-113(a)(31), and larger amounts under (a)(16). Some cities have local decriminalization ordinances, but State Police charges are filed under state law.

  • Not automatically. After Commonwealth v. Alexander (2020), Pennsylvania requires both probable cause and exigent circumstances — or a warrant — to search a vehicle without consent. That decision reopened suppression arguments in a large share of roadside drug cases.

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