Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025
In the District of Maryland, 38 of the 51 people sentenced for drug possession in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (75%) received probation only, and 8 (16%) received a prison term. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 68% were sent to prison.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 › Drug Possession: District of Maryland
In brief: In the District of Maryland, 38 of the 51 people sentenced for drug possession in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (75%) received probation only, and 8 (16%) received a prison term. For this offense type in all 94 federal districts, 68% were sent to prison.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 51 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 Was More Common Than Prison
Of the 51 people, 38 (75%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. A total of 8 (16%) received a prison term.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 2 months. A quarter received 5.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0.8 months or less. In all 94 districts, the median for drug possession was 6 months. For all offenses in the District of Maryland, it was 48 months.
Fines Were the Most Common Added Penalty
A fine was ordered for 29 people (57%), and restitution for none. After prison, 2 people (4%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 24 months.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 14 people with that information recorded.
The Guideline and the Offense Type
"Drug Possession" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type, built from the primary guideline of each case. The only guideline listed is §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), with 8 people.
These cases were less than 1% of the 6,044 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. They are separate from the drug trafficking offense type, which has its own guidelines.
Position Against the Guideline Range
The guideline range was recorded for just 11 people. Of them, 9 (82%) were within the range, 1 (9%) was below it at the government's request, and 1 (9%) was above it. None was below the range without a government request.
For drug possession in all 94 districts, 90% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 31%. With only 11 people, the Maryland figure should be read with caution.
Pleas and Criminal History
Of the 51 people, 50 (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. In all 94 districts, more than 99% pleaded guilty. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 95%.
Among guilty pleas, 28% had a written plea agreement and 58% were straight pleas with no agreement. In criminal history, 45% were in the lowest category and 0% in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Groups Are Very Small
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 27 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 24. Every year in the table has between 1 and 9 people. From fiscal year 2021 on, the median is shown as not available, because too few people were sent to prison to calculate it.
Federal fiscal years run from October through the following September. Numbers this small cannot show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 9 | 1.5 months | 8 of 9 |
| 2017 | 9 | 12 months | 9 of 9 |
| 2018 | 5 | 1.5 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2019 | 4 | 1 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2020 | 4 | 12 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2021 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2022 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2023 | 4 | n/a | 4 of 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2025 | 7 | n/a | 7 of 7 |
What Is Not Known
The records do not show which drug was involved, how much, or the facts of any case. Anyone not convicted and sentenced is absent, and the prison terms are the sentences imposed rather than time served.
Fort Meade, Maryland, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, are in this district. Military trials take place in courts-martial, outside this federal court.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Maryland (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Maryland") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (51). 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.
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 Maryland, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Maryland, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Maryland, 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.