In Arizona, one allegation that you moved or sold drugs for sale is a class 2 felony. The rule comes from A.R.S. § 13-3408, a section of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Moving a narcotic drug for sale, bringing it into Arizona, or selling it carries that classification. The weight recorded in your case then controls how much of the sentence a judge can shape.
At R&R Law Group, we defend people charged with drug trafficking in Scottsdale and throughout Maricopa County. Call (602) 497-3088 or reach out to us for free case evaluations.
How R&R Law Group Defends Scottsdale Drug Trafficking Charges
In a trafficking case, the alleged weight and the specific charging document usually decide which sentencing range is even in play before anything else does. Reading those pages closely is where a real defense starts.
We bring modern legal defense strategies to every trafficking case, backed by a comprehensive team of criminal defense attorneys guided by integrity, honesty, and compassion, working toward safety, clarity, and hope for every client.
What Counts as Drug Trafficking Under Arizona Law
Arizona has no offense literally named “drug trafficking.” People use the term for a group of acts named in Section 13-3408 and A.R.S. § 13-3407.
Section 13-3408 covers narcotic drugs. Section 13-3407 covers dangerous drugs. Both reach the same conduct:
- Transporting a narcotic or dangerous drug for sale
- Importing either into Arizona, or offering to transport or import it for sale
- Selling or transferring one, or offering to sell or transfer it
Paragraph 7 of each statute makes every one of those acts a class 2 felony. Cases like these are part of our broader drug crime defense practice in Scottsdale. The words “for sale” separate them from a possession charge.
Does the Amount of Drugs Decide Whether I Can Get Probation?
Yes. The number that decides it is the aggregate amount, meaning the total weight of the drugs in your case. If that total equals or exceeds Arizona’s statutory threshold amount, a conviction for transporting for sale, selling, or possessing for sale leaves you ineligible for probation, a suspended sentence, or early release.
That bar holds no matter how clean your record is, apart from the narrow exceptions the statute itself names. A.R.S. § 13-3401(36) sets the line, substance by substance:
| Substance | Threshold amount |
|---|---|
| Heroin | 1 gram |
| Cocaine | 9 grams |
| Cocaine base or hydrolyzed cocaine | 750 milligrams |
| PCP | 4 grams or 50 milliliters |
| Methamphetamine | 9 grams, including liquid suspension |
| Amphetamine | 9 grams |
| LSD | One-half milliliter, or 50 blotter dosage units |
| Marijuana | 2 pounds |
| Fentanyl or fentanyl mimetic substances | 9 grams |
| Any substance not listed | A value of at least $1,000 |
The prison bar in subsection D of both statutes turns on that total. Section 13-3408(D) counts one offense, or all the offenses tried together, not package by package.
A case that lands under the line leaves probation in the judge’s hands. A smaller amount can also put the charge closer to a drug possession allegation than to a for-sale allegation.
What Are the Penalties for a Class 2 Felony Drug Trafficking Conviction?
A first class 2 felony conviction in Arizona carries a presumptive prison term of five years. The range runs from three years at the low, or mitigated, end to 12.5 years at the high, or aggravated, end. A judge must also order a fine of at least $2,000, or three times the value of the drugs if that number is higher.
A.R.S. § 13-702 makes that presumptive term the starting point for a first felony. Another statute can set a different term, but only if it says so.
A judge cannot waive the fine. Section 13-3408(J) sets that floor and bars a judge from suspending any part of it.
Why Methamphetamine Cases Are Sentenced Differently
Methamphetamine trafficking has its own sentencing schedule. A first offense carries five calendar years at a minimum, ten as the presumptive term, and fifteen at most. With a prior methamphetamine conviction, those terms rise to ten, fifteen, and twenty years.
Subsection E of section 13-3407 sets those terms in calendar years. Subsection F then blocks four things for a methamphetamine conviction: a suspended sentence, probation, a pardon, and release. It never mentions the threshold amount at all.
Arizona sets the threshold amount for methamphetamine at 9 grams. Measuring the alleged weight against that line does little in a methamphetamine case, even where that comparison would change another case.
Where Is a Scottsdale Drug Trafficking Case Actually Heard?
A felony drug trafficking case that starts with a Scottsdale arrest is not resolved in Scottsdale City Court. Felony cases belong to the superior court. The local courts can only start the case and decide whether to hold you to answer in that court, an authority they share with the local justice courts for city-ordinance and state-law violations inside city limits.
A justice court’s role stops at the preliminary examination. From there the justice court sends you to the superior court to answer the charge, or lets you go if the state has not shown probable cause. Arizona’s constitution gives the superior court original jurisdiction over felony cases, so a Scottsdale trafficking case is heard in Maricopa County Superior Court.
How Arizona’s “Knowingly” and “Aggregate Amount” Language Shapes a Defense
Two words in the statute do most of the work in a trafficking defense. The state must prove you acted “knowingly.” And the probation bar bites only when the “aggregate amount” across the offenses tried together reaches the threshold.
- Knowledge is an element, not an assumption: The prohibited-acts subsection of section 13-3408 opens with “a person shall not knowingly.” So the state must prove you knew the drug was there and knew what it was.
- The aggregate amount follows the charging decision: How the state groups multiple counts, rather than charging each separately, can decide whether the probation bar applies at all.
- Weight and identity are measured facts: Threshold quantities under section 13-3401(36) are exact. A case near the line is a different case from one well above it.
Can a Drug Trafficking Charge Be Reduced to a Non-Prison Outcome?
Sometimes. A charge that resolves to a different offense, sometimes a straight possession charge handled under our broader drug crime defense practice, can keep probation and a suspended sentence on the table. So can a case whose weight never reaches the threshold.
Above the threshold, subsection D still leaves two doors open in its own text: release under the separate statute it points to, or commutation.
What any one case can reach depends on the facts, the weight, the charge, and the record.
Common Questions About Scottsdale Drug Trafficking Charges
Is Drug Trafficking Always Charged as a Felony in Arizona?
Yes. Every act that qualifies as trafficking under Arizona’s dangerous drug or narcotic drug statutes is a class 2 felony. There is no misdemeanor version of a for-sale charge.
Is Diversion Available for a Drug Trafficking Charge?
No. Arizona’s drug diversion programs are built for personal-use possession charges. Trafficking, sale, and manufacturing charges are not eligible, regardless of a person’s criminal history.
Does Arizona Treat Marijuana Trafficking the Same as Other Drugs?
Not entirely. Marijuana carries its own threshold amount, two pounds, and Arizona’s adult-use law carves out limited personal-possession exceptions that don’t exist for other drugs. A marijuana trafficking allegation still follows the same class 2 felony structure once the conduct is for sale rather than personal use.
Talk With a Scottsdale Drug Trafficking Defense Attorney
If you or someone in your family is facing a drug trafficking charge in Scottsdale, the sooner a criminal defense attorney reads the charging document and the alleged weight, the more room there is to work. The paperwork the police handed you, including any property and lab reports, is worth holding onto for that first conversation.
Call R&R Law Group at (602) 497-3088, or reach out to us. Free case evaluations are available now.