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# Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-district-of-vermont/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:13:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:13:08.000Z
- Description: 62 people were sentenced for drug possession in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 66% received a prison term and 34% received probation only. The median prison term was 0 months, compared with 6 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.
- 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) › Drug Possession: District of Vermont

**In brief:** 62 people were sentenced for drug possession in the District of Vermont in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 66% received a prison term and 34% received probation only. The median prison term was 0 months, compared with 6 months for this offense type in all 94 districts.

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 62 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/).

## Sentences Were Mostly Within the Guideline Range

Of the 61 people with the information, 80% (49) were sentenced within the guideline range. 15% (9) were below the range at the government's request, and 5% (3) were below the range without a government request. None was above the range.

For drug possession in all 94 districts, 90% of sentences were within the range. For all offenses in the Vermont district, the figure was 21%. Drug possession cases here were within the range more often than the district's cases overall, and less often than drug possession cases nationally.

## Prison, Probation, and a Median of 0 Months

41 of the 62 people (66%) received a prison term, and 21 (34%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For this offense type in all districts, 68% were sent to prison.

The median prison term among those sent to prison was 0 months, and a quarter received 0 months or more and a quarter received 0 months or less. The records here do not explain why the median is 0 months for a group in which 66% received a prison term. Nationally, the Commission counts 5,909 people in this offense type, with a median prison term of 6 months.

## A Small Part of the District's Cases

Drug possession cases were 4% of the 1,619 people sentenced in the district. The primary guideline for 56 of the 62 people was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession). The data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced, so dismissals and acquittals are not counted.

The median prison term for all offenses in the district was 18 months.

## Pleas and Mandatory Minimums

All 62 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and none was convicted after a trial. 98% of the pleas had a written plea agreement, and 2% were straight pleas with no agreement.

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 1 of the 62 people (2%). 37 people (60%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 4 people (6%). Restitution was ordered for none.

## Criminal History

64% of the group were in criminal history category I, and 2% were in category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 account for 18 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 account for 44\. A fiscal year runs from October 1 to the end of September. The yearly count was highest in 2021, at 12 people. The median prison term is 0 months or close to it in every year except 2018, when it is 11.7 months. Because yearly groups range from 3 to 12 people, the table does not show a trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 3                | 0 months      | 3 of 3         |
| 2017        | 5                | 0.5 months    | 5 of 5         |
| 2018        | 6                | 11.7 months   | 6 of 6         |
| 2019        | 4                | 0.5 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 6                | 0 months      | 6 of 6         |
| 2021        | 12               | 0 months      | 100%           |
| 2022        | 7                | 0 months      | 7 of 7         |
| 2023        | 4                | 0 months      | 4 of 4         |
| 2024        | 7                | 0 months      | 7 of 7         |
| 2025        | 8                | 0 months      | 8 of 8         |

## What the Records Cannot Show

The data does not show which drug was involved or the amount, and it does not describe any case. It reports prison terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Vermont (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Vermont") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (62). 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 Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-vermont/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Vermont, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-vermont/) (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.