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# Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-district-of-north-dakota/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:17:31.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:17:30.000Z
- Description: 13 people were sentenced in federal court for drug possession in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. All 13 pleaded guilty, 11 received a prison term, and 2 received probation only. The median prison term was 0.1 months.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–20](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-north-dakota/) › Drug Possession: District of North Dakota

**In brief:** 13 people were sentenced in federal court for drug possession in the District of North Dakota in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. All 13 pleaded guilty, 11 received a prison term, and 2 received probation only. The median prison term was 0.1 months.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 13 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Very Short Prison Terms

Of the 13 people, 11 (85%) received a prison term and 2 (15%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 0.1 months. A quarter received 0.2 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.

A term of 0 months or a fraction of a month is a very short term. The sheet does not say how or where it was served. The terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

Across all 94 federal districts, 68% of the 5,909 people sentenced for drug possession were sent to prison, and the median prison term was 6 months. The median in this district is lower than that.

## What Drug Possession Means Here

"Drug Possession" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type. It is separate from drug trafficking, which the Commission counts as its own category. In this district, the most common primary guideline was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), used for 11 people.

Drug possession was less than 1% of the 3,337 people sentenced in the district across these years. For all offenses in the district, the median prison term was 36 months.

## Everyone Pleaded Guilty

All 13 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. Each guilty plea had a written plea agreement. Nationwide, guilty pleas in drug possession cases were more than 99%, so the result here is about the same.

Because no one went to trial, there is no comparison of plea and trial sentences for this group.

## Sentences Within the Guideline Range

85% of the sentences (11) were within the guideline range. Another 8% (1) were below the range at the government's request, and 8% (1) were above the range. None was below the range without a government request.

Nationwide, 90% of drug possession sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, the figure was 34%, so drug possession cases here were within the range more often than the district's cases overall.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 13 people with that information recorded (8%).

## Supervised Release and Other Conditions

8 people (62%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 12 months. No fine and no restitution was ordered for anyone.

In criminal history, 38% were in category I (the lowest), and 8% were in category VI (the highest). Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Counts by Fiscal Year

5 people were sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists 1 to 3 people per year, so a yearly median describes very few people. No cases are listed for several years.

The fiscal year runs from October through September.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 2.8 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2017        | 3                | 0 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2018        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2021        | 1                | 0 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 2                | 0.2 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2023        | 2                | 0.1 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2024        | 2                | 2.6 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2025        | 1                | 0.2 months    | 1 of 1         |

## Limits of These Records

The Commission's data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not show people whose possession charges were dropped or dismissed. Grand Forks AFB and Minot AFB are in the district, but courts-martial are tried in military courts, and these figures are federal only. The data does not show the drugs involved or the reasons for any sentence.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of North Dakota (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "North Dakota") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (13). 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](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-north-dakota/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-north-dakota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-north-dakota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-north-dakota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Assault Sentences in the District of North Dakota, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-assault-sentences-district-of-north-dakota/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (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](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.