Federal Drug Possession Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025
Of 40 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Washington, 29 (73%) received probation only, and 11 (28%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 0 months. The data for this offense type runs from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2023.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2 › Drug Possession: Western District of Washington
In brief: Of 40 people sentenced for drug possession in the Western District of Washington, 29 (73%) received probation only, and 11 (28%) received a prison term. The median prison term was 0 months. The data for this offense type runs from fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2023.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 40 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.
Mostly Probation, With Very Short Prison Terms
The Sentencing Commission's "Drug Possession" offense type is for people whose main offense was possessing a drug, not trafficking it. This district has 40 such people. 29 (73%) were sentenced to probation only, with no prison or other confinement. 11 (28%) received a prison term.
Among the 11, the median prison term was 0 months. A quarter received 0.1 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less. These figures point to prison terms that were extremely short. The records give the terms imposed, not time served.
A Different Mix From the National Group
Nationally, 5,909 people fall in this offense type. 68% of them went to prison, and the median prison term was 6 months. Both the share and the median are lower in this district.
Drug possession cases were 1% of the 3,992 people sentenced here. Drug trafficking is a separate offense type with its own post.
Nearly Every Sentence Was Within the Guideline Range
Of 39 people with this information, 34 (87%) were within the guideline range. 4 (10%) were below it at the government's request, and 1 (3%) was below it without a request. None were above it.
Nationally, 90% were within the range. For all offense types in this district, the share is 35%. A mandatory minimum applied to 0 of the 39 people.
Every Case Ended in a Guilty Plea
All 40 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Nationally, guilty pleas were more than 99%, and for every offense type in this district they were 97%.
Of the pleas, 98% had a written plea agreement and 3% were straight pleas with no agreement. Because there were no trials, the data has no plea-versus-trial comparison.
Guideline, Fines, and Supervision
The listed primary guideline was §2D2.1 (Unlawful Possession), with 1 person named in the leading list. A fine was ordered for 23 people (58%), and restitution for 0. 2 people (5%) were ordered to serve supervised release after prison, with a median term of 10 months.
In criminal history, 68% were in the lowest category and 0% were in the highest. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
Yearly Counts and Gaps
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 30 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 10. The table has no rows after fiscal year 2023, and "n/a" marks years with too few prison terms for a median. Counts this small do not show a trend.
Bremerton, Washington and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington are in this district. Courts-martial are heard in military courts. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the federal data.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | 0 months | 5 of 5 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0.1 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2019 | 15 | 2 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 5 | n/a | 5 of 5 |
| 2021 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
| 2022 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 months | 1 of 1 |
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Western District of Washington (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Washington West") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Drug Possession" (40). 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 Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Other Offense Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Western District of Washington, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Western District of Washington, 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.