Possession of a Controlled Substance in Arkansas: Penalties by Schedule

Penalties for possession of a controlled substance in Arkansas range from a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine to a Class A felony carrying six to thirty years in prison. Where your case lands depends on two things: the schedule the drug falls into and how much of it you had. Arkansas weighs the entire mixture, including any fillers or cutting agents, so a five-gram bag of diluted cocaine is treated as five grams for sentencing.1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance A conviction also carries a six-month driver’s license suspension, a federal firearms ban if the offense is a felony, and possible loss of professional licensing.

How the Drug’s Schedule Drives the Charge

Arkansas groups controlled substances into six schedules. Schedule I includes heroin and LSD. Schedule II covers cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and oxycodone. Schedules III through V progress downward in abuse potential and cover anabolic steroids, ketamine, Xanax, Valium, Ambien, and codeine combination products. Schedule VI is marijuana.2Drug Enforcement Administration. Drug Scheduling

The schedule sets the felony class, the weight thresholds at which the charge escalates, and the prison range a judge can impose. Everything else about the penalty flows from that starting point.

Penalties for Meth, Heroin, and Cocaine

Arkansas singles out these three drugs with their own weight tiers, separate from the rest of Schedule I and II:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance

Weight includes adulterants and diluents, so the amount that matters is the total mass of the substance, not the pure drug content.

Penalties for Other Schedule I and II Drugs

Fentanyl, oxycodone, LSD, and the rest of Schedule I and II follow a slightly more forgiving middle tier:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance

  • Less than 2 grams: Class D felony, up to 6 years in prison.
  • 2 grams to under 28 grams: Class C felony, 3 to 10 years.
  • 28 grams to under 200 grams: Class B felony, 5 to 20 years.

The practical effect shows up in the middle. Fifteen grams of fentanyl is a Class C felony; fifteen grams of cocaine is a Class B felony, because cocaine crosses into Class B at 10 grams while the rest of Schedule I and II hold Class C until 28 grams.

Penalties for Schedule III Drugs

Schedule III includes certain anabolic steroids, ketamine, and some codeine combination products. Penalties start as a misdemeanor and climb quickly:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance

  • Less than 2 grams: Class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and up to $2,500 in fines. This becomes a Class D felony if you have four or more prior possession convictions.
  • 2 grams to under 28 grams: Class D felony, up to 6 years in prison.
  • 28 grams to under 200 grams: Class C felony, 3 to 10 years.
  • 200 grams to under 400 grams: Class B felony, 5 to 20 years.

That repeat-offender bump at the bottom tier also applies to Schedule IV, V, and VI. Four prior possession convictions turn what would otherwise be a misdemeanor into a felony.

Penalties for Schedule IV and V Drugs

Xanax, Valium, Ambien, and small-quantity codeine cough preparations sit in Schedules IV and V. Arkansas treats these two schedules identically for possession:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance

  • Less than 28 grams: Class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and up to $2,500 in fines. Class D felony with four or more prior possession convictions.
  • 28 grams to under 200 grams: Class D felony, up to 6 years.
  • 200 grams to under 400 grams: Class C felony, 3 to 10 years.
  • 400 grams to under 800 grams: Class B felony, 5 to 20 years.

The misdemeanor threshold is far more generous here. You can hold up to 28 grams of a Schedule IV or V substance before crossing into felony territory, compared with 2 grams for Schedule I and II.

Penalties for Marijuana (Schedule VI)

Marijuana sits in its own schedule, and weight is measured in ounces and pounds:1Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance

  • Less than 4 ounces: Class A misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail and up to $2,500 in fines.
  • 1 to under 4 ounces with four or more prior convictions: Class D felony.
  • 4 ounces to under 10 pounds: Class D felony, up to 6 years.
  • 10 to under 25 pounds: Class C felony, 3 to 10 years.
  • 25 to under 100 pounds: Class B felony, 5 to 20 years.
  • 100 to under 500 pounds: Class A felony, 6 to 30 years and up to $15,000 in fines.3Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-401 – Sentence

The repeat-offender enhancement for marijuana only applies between 1 and 4 ounces. Less than an ounce stays a misdemeanor no matter your prior history.

If you hold a valid Arkansas medical marijuana registry card under Amendment 98, you may legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana. Anything above that amount, or possession without a card, falls back under the penalties above.5Arkansas Department of Health. Amendment 98 Sections 1-8

When Possession Becomes Possession With Intent to Deliver

Prosecutors don’t need to catch you selling to charge you with possession with purpose to deliver. For methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, Arkansas law lists specific factors that support the upgrade:6Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-420 – Possession of a Controlled Substance With Purpose to Deliver

  • Scales, bags, or other packaging materials
  • Records of drug transactions
  • Drugs already separated into individual packages
  • A firearm within immediate reach at the time of possession
  • At least two other controlled substances in any amount

The felony class jumps a full step. Less than 2 grams with intent to deliver becomes a Class C felony (3 to 10 years) instead of Class D. Two to under 10 grams becomes Class B (5 to 20 years). Ten to under 200 grams becomes Class A (6 to 30 years). A few empty baggies and a scale next to 3 grams of cocaine can turn a Class C simple possession case into a Class B felony with a five-year floor.

The 10-Year Enhancement Near Schools, Parks, and Other Protected Places

Committing a possession offense classified as Class C or higher within 1,000 feet of certain locations adds an extra 10 years of imprisonment on top of the underlying sentence. The enhancement also applies to any delivery, manufacturing, or trafficking charge. Protected locations include:7Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-411 – Proximity to Certain Facilities

  • Public or private schools, colleges, and universities
  • Designated school bus stops
  • Day care centers
  • City or state parks
  • Churches
  • Community centers, recreation centers, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and skating rinks
  • Drug or alcohol treatment facilities
  • Public multifamily housing developments
  • Domestic violence shelters

The added 10 years cannot be reduced by parole, early release, or community correction transfer. A judge can run the enhancement concurrent with or consecutive to the base sentence, but the full ten years must be served before any release option opens. In densely built parts of Arkansas cities, overlapping zones make this enhancement easier to trigger than it sounds.

Collateral Consequences of a Conviction

The sentence and fine aren’t the whole cost. A conviction reaches into everyday life in ways that keep operating long after release.

Driver’s License Suspension

Any drug conviction, guilty plea, or even enrollment in a pre-adjudication drug court program triggers a six-month driver’s license suspension. If your license is already suspended for something else, the six months stack on top. If you’ve never had a license, eligibility is pushed back by an additional six months from the date you apply. Commercial drivers face a one-year CDL suspension on top of the six-month standard suspension.8Justia. Arkansas Code 27-16-915 – Suspension for Conviction of Controlled Substance Offenses

Federal Firearms Ban

A felony drug conviction makes it illegal under federal law to possess any firearm or ammunition. The ban covers anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, which is every felony class in Arkansas.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The prohibition is permanent unless the conviction is expunged, pardoned, or your civil rights are restored in a way that does not expressly prohibit firearm possession.10Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Most Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers

Professional Licensing

A felony drug conviction can disqualify you from obtaining or keeping a professional license issued by any Arkansas licensing entity. The disqualification is capped at five years if the offense was not violent or sexual and you pick up no additional convictions during that window. Licensing boards can also grant waivers case by case.11Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Code 17-3-102 – Licensing Restrictions Based on Criminal Records For anyone working in healthcare, education, real estate, or another regulated field, this can outweigh the jail time in real-world impact.

Drug Court as an Alternative

Every judicial district in Arkansas is authorized to operate a drug court. Programs target medium-risk and high-risk offenders and can accept participants either before or after adjudication.12Justia. Arkansas Code 16-98-303 – Drug Court Programs Authorized Participation typically involves drug testing, outpatient or residential treatment, and supervision by the Division of Community Correction, with regular check-ins before the drug court judge.

You are excluded if you have a pending violent felony charge, a prior violent felony conviction, or an obligation to register as a sex offender, with a narrow exception for prostitution offenses. Individual drug courts can add stricter eligibility rules of their own. For those who complete the program, the outcome can be dismissal of charges or reduced sentencing, depending on whether the case entered pre-adjudication or post-adjudication.

Common Defenses

The strength of a defense depends on the specific facts, but a few come up in most Arkansas possession cases.

Lack of knowledge. Possession requires that you knew the substance was there and knew what it was. This defense carries the most weight in constructive possession cases, where drugs are found in a shared car, apartment, or common area rather than on your person. If the state can’t prove both knowledge and control over the space, the charge should not stand.

Unlawful search and seizure. The Fourth Amendment requires probable cause or a valid warrant for most searches. If officers searched without consent, without reasonable suspicion, or beyond the scope of a warrant, evidence found during that search can be excluded.13Congress.gov. Constitution Annotated – Exclusionary Rule and Evidence Without the drugs in evidence, the prosecution’s case usually falls apart.

Valid prescription or medical authorization. Possession under a valid prescription from a licensed physician is not a crime. For marijuana, a valid Arkansas medical registry card serves the same function within the 2.5-ounce limit.

Challenging weight or lab identification. Because penalties escalate sharply at each weight threshold, contesting the accuracy of the scale, the chain of custody, or the lab’s identification of the substance can drop the charge to a lower felony class or, at the lowest tiers, to a misdemeanor.