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Maine Drug Trafficking Law

Maine Drug Trafficking Penalties, 17-A M.R.S. § 1103

What you are facing under 17-A M.R.S. § 1103, how the penalties scale, and the questions an attorney needs to answer — under Maine (ME) drug trafficking law.

Maine (ME) — Unlawful Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs

Offense class: Class B Crime (schedule W drug; marijuana ≥ 20 lb or ≥ 500 plants); Class C Crime (schedule X drug; marijuana > 1 lb or ≥ 100 plants); Class D Crime (schedule Y or schedule Z drug). Aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A) is a Class A Crime for enumerated factors.

Incarceration

None for base trafficking under § 1103 (no mandatory minimum). A mandatory minimum attaches only to aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A) — see below. – 30 years (Class A — aggravated trafficking § 1105-A); 10 years (Class B); 5 years (Class C); 364 days (Class D)

Maximum Fine

$50,000 (Class A); $20,000 (Class B); $5,000 (Class C); $2,000 (Class D)

Offense Class

Class B Crime (schedule W drug; marijuana ≥ 20 lb or ≥ 500 plants); Class C Crime (schedule X drug; marijuana > 1 lb or ≥ 100 plants); Class D Crime (schedule Y or schedule Z drug). Aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A) is a Class A Crime for enumerated factors.

What this costs

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Mandatory minimum: Aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A), non-marijuana, under § 1125: 4 years (Class A), 2 years (Class B), 1 year (Class C) — none of which may be suspended. On a court finding that a minimum term would work a substantial injustice, the floor drops to 9 months (Class A), 6 months (Class B), or 3 months (Class C). Base § 1103 trafficking has no mandatory minimum.

What this means

Plain language

A sentence the judge cannot go below, no matter the facts. In Maine a court can drop below it only on a finding that the minimum would work a substantial injustice; otherwise a charge reduction is the usual way out.

Maine Drug Trafficking Penalty Range

FactorDetail
Statute17-A M.R.S. § 1103
OffenseUnlawful Trafficking in Scheduled Drugs
ClassClass B Crime (schedule W drug; marijuana ≥ 20 lb or ≥ 500 plants); Class C Crime (schedule X drug; marijuana > 1 lb or ≥ 100 plants); Class D Crime (schedule Y or schedule Z drug). Aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A) is a Class A Crime for enumerated factors.
IncarcerationNone for base trafficking under § 1103 (no mandatory minimum). A mandatory minimum attaches only to aggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A) — see below. – 30 years (Class A — aggravated trafficking § 1105-A); 10 years (Class B); 5 years (Class C); 364 days (Class D)
Maximum fine$50,000 (Class A); $20,000 (Class B); $5,000 (Class C); $2,000 (Class D)
Mandatory minimumAggravated trafficking (§ 1105-A), non-marijuana, under § 1125: 4 years (Class A), 2 years (Class B), 1 year (Class C) — none of which may be suspended. On a court finding that a minimum term would work a substantial injustice, the floor drops to 9 months (Class A), 6 months (Class B), or 3 months (Class C). Base § 1103 trafficking has no mandatory minimum.

Penalty Enhancements

Additional factors that can increase the sentence under Maine law.

  • Trafficking to, or enlisting/soliciting/conspiring with, a person under 18 (§ 1105-A)
  • On a school bus or within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school (§ 1105-A)
  • Possessing, using, carrying, or being armed with a firearm in furtherance of the offense (§ 1105-A)
  • A prior Class A, B, or C drug conviction (§ 1105-A)
  • Quantity thresholds that make it aggravated trafficking — e.g. cocaine ≥ 112 g; heroin ≥ 6 g (or ≥ 270 packages); fentanyl powder ≥ 6 g (or ≥ 270 packages); methamphetamine ≥ 100 g or ≥ 300 units; MDMA ≥ 300 units (§ 1105-A)
  • Death or serious bodily injury caused by the scheduled drug (§ 1105-A)

Maine note: Maine does not require a hand-to-hand sale to charge trafficking. Under § 1103(3), simple possession of a threshold quantity permits a jury to INFER trafficking — e.g. cocaine ≥ 14 g, heroin ≥ 4 g, fentanyl powder ≥ 4 g, methamphetamine ≥ 14 g, or MDMA ≥ 14 g / ≥ 30 pills. Larger § 1105-A quantities elevate the charge to aggravated (Class A) trafficking with a mandatory minimum. Rebutting that inference — and challenging the search, the weight, and the lab analysis — is the core of the defense.

Federal judges with most drug-trafficking sentencing data in Maine

These are aggregate frequencies — never a prediction about any specific case.

What you're afraid of

Maine drug trafficking defendants tell us they're afraid of four things. Here's how we address each.

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  • What if my attorney isn't actually listening — or preparing?

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  • I don't even know what I don't know.

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  • What if I bring my attorney a number they dismiss?

    If you bring your attorney a number they can't trace to a source, the conversation is over. Every number in our report is a hyperlink. Your attorney clicks, verifies, and the conversation continues.

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We're not here to replace your attorney. We're here to make sure you walk into their office knowing the right questions to ask.

What you're paying for is the time

Skip the 6-10 hours of reading. We already did it.

Defendants are already doing this work themselves — on r/legaladvice / r/Ask_Lawyers / Avvo Q&A, in Google searches, in the long thread of “what happens if I plead X” questions every public legal-help surface carries. The data is public. The reading is the work.

  • r/legaladvice + r/Ask_Lawyers (source): thousands of 'what happens if I plead X' threads, none of them indexed to your specific charge or your state's statute.

  • Avvo Q&A (source): per-charge plain-language threads, attorney answers gated behind per-minute meters.

  • Your state's official statute site: the actual statute text, the actual sentencing range, the actual enhancement triggers.

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Other Maine defense topics

Facing a different charge in Maine? Penalty ranges, enhancements, and defense questions for related crimes:

DUI in MaineDrug Possession in MaineAssault in MaineDomestic Violence in Maine

This page provides legal information — not legal advice — about Maine drug trafficking law as of the date of publication. Laws change. Verify current statutes with a licensed attorney in Maine.