Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025
Of the 54 people sentenced for drug possession offenses in the District of Kansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 38 (70%) received probation only, and 16 (30%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 68% of people sentenced in this offense type were sent to prison. The Kansas median
· Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 › Drug Possession: District of Kansas
In brief: Of the 54 people sentenced for drug possession offenses in the District of Kansas in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 38 (70%) received probation only, and 16 (30%) received a prison term. Across all 94 federal districts, 68% of people sentenced in this offense type were sent to prison. The Kansas median prison term was 0.5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 54 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Probation Only Was the Most Common Sentence
The U.S. Sentencing Commission recorded 54 people sentenced in the District of Kansas under its offense type "Drug Possession". Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 38 of them (70%). A prison term went to 16 (30%).
For all 94 districts together, 5,909 people were sentenced in this offense type, and 68% were sent to prison. Prison was therefore much less common in Kansas for this offense type than in the country as a whole.
Drug possession cases were 1% of the 4,217 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
Very Short Prison Terms
Among the 16 people sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.5 months. A quarter received 6.9 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
The median for the offense type in all districts was 6 months. The median for all offenses in the District of Kansas was 46 months, so these cases involved far shorter terms than the district's cases overall.
The prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
What Kind of Charge Is This?
Drug Possession is one of the Commission's offense types. It is assigned from the main guideline used at sentencing.
The primary guideline listed for these cases was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), which appeared in 26 cases. The sheet lists no other guideline among the most common ones.
Guilty Pleas and Plea Agreements
All 54 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Across all districts, guilty pleas for this offense type were more than 99%, and for all offenses in the District of Kansas they were 97%.
Among the guilty pleas, 41% had a written plea agreement and 48% were straight pleas with no agreement. Straight pleas were thus common in this group.
Sentences Against the Guideline Range
Of the 31 people with this information recorded, 28 (90%) were sentenced within the guideline range. Another 3 (10%) were sentenced above the range. None was below the range, either at the government's request or without one (0%).
The national figure for sentences within the range in this offense type was also 90%. For all offenses in the District of Kansas, it was 42%.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 3 of the 34 people with that information recorded (9%).
Fines, Supervised Release, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 34 people (63%), and restitution for 1 (2%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 (17%), with a median term of 12 months.
On criminal history, 50% were in the lowest category, category I, and 3% were in the highest, category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Counts by Year and Limits of the Records
There were 24 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 30 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. The table gives each year. Yearly counts are small, from 1 to 13 people, and several years show no median because no median could be reported. One year is not a trend.
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. The records do not show the drug involved or why a case ended in probation.
Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, and McConnell AFB are in the district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 2 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 1.6 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0.5 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 7 | 4.8 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2021 | 13 | 9 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2024 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 0 months | 4 of 4 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Kansas (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Kansas") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (54). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct. Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.
Federal supervised release. Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.
Who decides the sentence, and under what rules. Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
How life sentences and "time served" are counted. In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.
Mandatory minimum sentences. Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Kansas, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.