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# Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-possession-sentences-western-district-of-new-york/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:00:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:00:23.000Z
- Description: 30 people were sentenced in the Western District of New York for drug possession offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 16 of them (53%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 2.7 months. 13 (43%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts, 68% of people in this offense typ
- 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 Western District of New York, FY201](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-new-york/) › Drug Possession: Western District of New York

**In brief:** 30 people were sentenced in the Western District of New York for drug possession offenses in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 16 of them (53%) received a prison term, and the median prison term was 2.7 months. 13 (43%) received probation only. In all 94 federal districts, 68% of people in this offense type were sent to prison.

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 30 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/).

## Short Prison Terms and Frequent Probation

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type "Drug Possession" is separate from drug trafficking. It covers simple possession, not distribution. This district had 30 such cases in fiscal years 2016 to 2025, which is less than 1% of the 4,205 people sentenced in the district.

16 people (53%) received a prison term. 13 (43%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The share sent to prison was lower than the 68% across all 94 districts.

## The Length of Prison Terms

Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 2.7 months. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 0.2 months or less.

In all 94 districts, the median prison term for drug possession was 6 months. For all offenses in the Western District of New York, it was 41 months.

## Almost All Sentences Were Within the Guideline Range

25 of the 30 people (83%) were sentenced within the guideline range. 3 (10%) were below the range at the government's request, and 2 (7%) were below it without a request. None were above the range.

Across all 94 districts, 90% of drug possession sentences were within the range. For all offenses in this district, 42% were within the range. The share within the range for this offense type is higher than the district's overall share, and lower than the share across all districts.

## Guidelines, Pleas, and Mandatory Minimums

All 30 cases used §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession) as the primary guideline. 29 of the 30 (97%) pleaded guilty, and 1 was convicted after a trial. Every guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.

The median prison term after a guilty plea was 2.5 months. The one person convicted at trial received 15 months, but a single case cannot support a comparison. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 4 of the 30 people (13%).

## Supervised Release and Fines

13 people (43%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 18 people (60%). Restitution was ordered for no one (0%).

On criminal history, 63% were in the lowest category, and 3% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Year-by-Year Counts

Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 14 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 16 people. Yearly counts in the table range from 1 to 6 people. The table shows no median prison term for fiscal years 2017 and 2019, and the table lists no row for fiscal year 2024.

With so few people in each year, the medians are not a basis for any trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 4                | 1.6 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2017        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 4                | 0.3 months    | 4 of 4         |
| 2019        | 4                | n/a           | 4 of 4         |
| 2020        | 6                | 4.6 months    | 5 of 6         |
| 2021        | 1                | 6 months      | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 5                | 6 months      | 5 of 5         |
| 2023        | 3                | 0.6 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2025        | 1                | 2.5 months    | 1 of 1         |

## What These Numbers Do Not Cover

The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it, and charges that were reduced from a trafficking offense to possession cannot be identified here. Prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of New York (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "New York West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (30). 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 Western District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-western-district-of-new-york/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-western-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-western-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-western-district-of-new-york/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Western District of New York, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-western-district-of-new-york/) (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.