Nevada Drug Laws: Drug Crimes According to NRS


The Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) are filled with Nevada Drug Laws that talk about grounds of manufacturing, distributing, and possessing them. A strictly watched form of crime, usage of controlled substances in different ways can get you locked up as it’s the root cause of health and security risks and other crimes in the State.

If you are accused of any type of drug crime in Nevada or if you want to learn more about the rapidly growing criminality in the State, here is an article that discusses Nevada drug laws based on the NRS to provide you enough information on how to approach a drug crime case.

Nevada Drug Laws: Prohibited Controlled Substances

Chapter 454 of the NRS defines dangerous drugs as controlled substances or any type of drug that is not intended for self-medication or abuse. They can be any drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration intended for distribution and has a proper distinction.

It becomes a crime when you use controlled substances without prescription and if you administer it to be abused by others.

There is a large list of the prohibited controlled substances to dispense without prescription in Nevada which are called Schedules. These Schedules are also divided into four different categories depending on how easy it is to access and abuse a particular drug. They are as follows:

Schedule I

Schedule I drugs are controlled substances most commonly abused due to its wide availability. They are illegal to use as they have no medical usage (apart from medical marijuana).

  • Heroin
  • Methamphetamine
  • LSD
  • Ecstasy
  • Mescaline
  • PCP
  • Date Rape Drugs like GHB
  • Peyote
  • Marijuana can be used for medical and recreational purposes but has a certain limit of dosage and provisions such as smoking only in the privacy of homes

Schedule II

Schedule II drugs also have a high tendency to be abused but less than the substances in Schedule I. Some of them are prescribed for medical use.

  • Morphine
  • Cocaine
  • Opium
  • Hydrocodone
  • Morphine
  • Oxycodone
  • Methylphenidate
  • Hydromorphone

Schedule III

The list of drugs In Schedule III are less accessible than the ones in Schedule II thus the low probability of them being abused but make no mistake, they are a lot of people abused with the following substances.

  • Ketamine
  • Anabolic Steroids
  • Testosterone

Schedule IV

Schedule IV consists of drugs that are mostly accepted for medical use and have very low chances of being abused.

  • Xanax
  • Sedatives
  • Tranquilizers
  • Clonazepam
  • Valium

Schedule V

Drugs in Schedule V are put under this certain list because of their small portion of addictive properties. They are can be medicine used to suppress cough and diarrhea like Codeine.

Drug Crimes in Nevada

As per Nevada drug laws, you can be criminalized with different drug crimes. For the most part, these are activities such as production and selling. Possession of drugs, the lowest criminal violation, is also a common drug crime that you could get entangled with. Other drug crimes include selling fake drugs, drugged driving, drug trafficking, and even possession of paraphernalia.

Despite its range, we focus on the most frequent drug crimes that people get entangled on. Read further for more.

Manufacturing or Growing of Controlled Substances

According to NRS 453.131, production of controlled substances is the act of planting, cultivation, growing, and eventual harvest of a plant or an ingredient to come up with a substance similar to what is established.

Production of controlled substances become illegal when they are created with the intent to sell. When caught with this type of violation, you could face certain charges of up to six years in prison and fines of not more than $100,000.

With the newly refurbished Nevada drug laws, growing marijuana in Nevada is now allowed granted you only have six plants for cultivation, you are 21 years old, and you are 25 miles away from an authorized cannabis dispensary. Having 12 plants and more can lead to a felony charge.

Distribution or Selling of Controlled Substances

Handing out drugs with or without a price is also a violation of Nevada drug laws. As written in NRS 453.321, it is unlawful to “import, transport, sell, exchange, barter, supply, prescribe, dispense, give away or administer a controlled or counterfeit substance.”

Selling is also different from drug trafficking. Selling is usually attributed to small scale transactions between strangers, friends, and even families while drug trafficking is done by large organizations. For more info about Nevada drug trafficking laws, click here.

When you sell drugs of Schedule I and II, you will be charged with category B felony. If you violated for the first time, the penalties include:

  • A term in the State prison of not more than one year and not less than six years
  • Fines that are not more than $20,000

For the second time and still with Schedules I and II, you will be charged with:

  • Imprisonment of not more than two years and not less than 10 years
  • Fine of $20,000

A third offense has similar penalties with a variation of imprisonment being three years to 15 years.

Selling Schedule III, IV, and V drugs is a category C felony. For the first offense, you will have to go under penalties as stated in NRS 193.130. A second offense, on the other hand, includes a prison term that is not exceeding two years and not more than 10 years with fines that amount to $15,000. A third offense adds numbers to the sentences, making the prison time three to 15 years and the fine $20,000.

Possession or Usage of Controlled Substances

As specified by Nevada drug laws, it is a crime to have drugs or any other controlled substances in your possession without a prescription. According to NRS 193.130, a person is guilty of possession if they “knowingly or intentionally possess a controlled substance, unless the substance was obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a prescription or order of a physician…”

Possession can also be classified into three types and each comes with a particular set of implications. First is the Actual Possession where police officers actually find drugs or controlled substances on you. For example, hiding them in the pocket or strapping them in any part of your body. Next is constructive possession where the drugs are not found on you but in one of the locations that you own or have control of. Say, a police officer discovered drugs in the trunk of your car. You can deny it is not yours but with it being seen in one of your properties puts you in a tight spot. Another one is joint possession where two or more people have shared control of a place or a property where the drugs or controlled substances were found. Even if you do not use yourself, having it on a medicine cabinet that you and your loved one use makes you an offender of the law. Possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute is also a crime, you can read more about it here.

Separate from drug possession crime is a drug paraphernalia crime. Holding on to syringes, pipes, bongs, and even other items used to conceal drugs can get you penalized albeit on less serious charges such as a misdemeanor which is comprised of six months in jail and fines of $1,000.

You might want to think twice before growing, selling, or ultimately using controlled substances in Nevada as they are under stringent laws that will surely penalize you.

Since law enforcement has the tendency to be unpredictable, you can be charged with drug crimes that you did not commit and you can prove the truth if you have a trusted drug crimes attorney operating in Las Vegas and the other counties in Nevada by your side.

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