Drug Use Sentences in 2024: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial
At courts-martial in 2024, 84% of 73 convictions for wrongful drug use included confinement, with a median of 3 months, and 61% of the enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge. In federal fiscal year 2024, 58% of 128 people sentenced for simple possession received a prison term. Thei
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In brief: At courts-martial in 2024, 84% of 73 convictions for wrongful drug use included confinement, with a median of 3 months, and 61% of the enlisted members convicted received a punitive discharge. In federal fiscal year 2024, 58% of 128 people sentenced for simple possession received a prison term. Their median prison term was 0.4 months, lower than the court-martial median.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 128 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2024, compared with court-martial results from this site's Military Trial Results data (updated November 2, 2026). 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.
Punitive Discharges After a 2024 Drug Conviction
A court-martial sentence can include a discharge from the service. A federal sentence cannot. In 2024, 42 of the 69 enlisted members convicted under Article 112a received a punitive discharge. That is 61%.
The 42 discharges were 37 bad-conduct discharges and 5 dishonorable discharges. 4 officers were convicted, and 4 were dismissed, the officer form of a punitive discharge.
Confinement Adjudged at Courts-Martial
Confinement was part of 61 of the 73 convictions with a sentence recorded. The median adjudged confinement was 3 months. A quarter received 6.9 months or more.
The 73 convictions came from the Air Force (35), the Marine Corps (19), the Army (11), and the Navy (8). 20 of them (27%) were at a general court-martial.
A plea is recorded for 65 convictions, and 56 of those (86%) were guilty pleas. The median confinement after a guilty plea was 3.1 months, from 48 cases with confinement. Contested cases ending in conviction had a median of 3.5 months, but only 6 such cases included confinement.
| Courts-martial, 2024 | Federal court, FY2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Convictions or people sentenced | 73 | 128 |
| Sentenced to confinement or prison | 84% | 58% |
| Median confinement or prison | 3 months | 0.4 months |
| A quarter received this or more | 6.9 months | 11.5 months |
| Pleaded guilty | 56 of 65 with a plea recorded (86%) | 95% |
| Mandatory minimum applied | See the caveats | 10 of 91 with the information (11%) |
How Federal Court Sentenced Simple Possession in Fiscal Year 2024
Simple possession under 21 U.S.C. 844 is the nearest federal charge to drug use. The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 128 people sentenced under it in fiscal year 2024.
74 of the 128 received a prison term, and 51 (40%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. For those sent to prison, the median term was 0.4 months. A quarter received 11.5 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
122 of the 128 (95%) pleaded guilty, and 6 were convicted after a trial. The median prison term after a guilty plea was 0.2 months. After a trial it was 132 months, based on 6 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Agreements, Guidelines, and Minimums
61% of the federal guilty pleas came with a written plea agreement, and 24% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Guideline information is available for 118 people. 82% (97) were sentenced within the range, 7% (8) above it, 3% (4) below it at the government's request, and 8% (9) below it without such a request.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 10 people (11%).
Supervision, Fines, and Criminal History
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 44 people (34%), with a median of 12 months. A fine was ordered for 49 (38%). No restitution was ordered.
53% of the federal defendants were in criminal history category I, the lowest, and 10% were in category VI, the highest. There is no criminal history field in court-martial records.
How the Comparison Was Built
Court-martial years are calendar years by trial date. Federal fiscal year 2024 ran from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. The military side counts convictions, and the federal side counts people sentenced.
Over the whole data set, there were 1,071 court-martial drug use convictions with trial dates from 2016 to 2025 (median confinement 3 months) and 6,268 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 (median prison term 6 months). Each federal fiscal year appears in the table below.
Court-martial terms are adjudged at trial, before clemency or appeal. Federal terms are imposed, not served. The records cannot show the facts of any case or why the sentences differ.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,917 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2017 | 1,343 | 6 months | more than 99% |
| 2018 | 820 | 6 months | 99% |
| 2019 | 614 | 5.9 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 484 | 5.9 months | 97% |
| 2021 | 342 | 0.5 months | 97% |
| 2022 | 339 | 1 months | 96% |
| 2023 | 159 | 1.1 months | 95% |
| 2024 | 128 | 0.4 months | 95% |
| 2025 | 122 | 0.4 months | 96% |
How We Counted
Courts-martial with a trial date in 2024 ending in a conviction for wrongful drug use (Article 112a), compared with federal simple possession, the nearest federal charge (73). Federal: people sentenced in fiscal year 2024 under a conviction under 21 U.S.C. 844 (simple possession), the nearest federal charge (128), U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
Different cases reach each system. Federal prosecutors bring a narrow set of cases. In fiscal year 2024, immigration and drug trafficking cases were 59% of everyone sentenced in federal court (36,664 of 61,678). Many crimes that the military prosecutes, such as most assaults, most sexual assaults between adults, and drug use, are usually state crimes for civilians and reach federal court only in special situations, such as on federal land or in Indian Country. A federal case and a court-martial for the same crime can involve different kinds of facts.
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.
Military confinement credit and parole. For military sentences adjudged after 2004, good conduct time is 5 days for each month of confinement, about 16%. Military prisoners can also earn up to 8 more days a month for work and programs and up to 2 days a month for special acts, with a limit of 15 days a month in total. Military prisoners can be considered for parole by their service's clemency and parole board. The military numbers in this post are the confinement adjudged at trial, not the time served.
Military sentences include punishments federal sentences do not. A court-martial sentence can include a punitive discharge (bad-conduct discharge, dishonorable discharge, or dismissal for officers), reduction in rank, and forfeiture of pay. These have no federal counterpart. A comparison of months of confinement leaves them out. A short confinement term combined with a dishonorable discharge is a heavier sentence than the months alone show.
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.
Offense categories do not line up exactly. Each comparison uses a federal offense group chosen to match the military article as closely as possible (see the crosswalk). Some matches are close; others are partial. The post says which federal guideline or statute was used and why it is not an exact match.
Drug use has no federal counterpart. Federal law does not make drug use a crime. A positive drug test is not a federal offense; a civilian can be charged only with possessing the drug. Bringing drugs onto a military installation is also a military-only offense. For these, the nearest federal charge is simple possession, and the post says that the match is not exact.
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 Law Has No Crime of Drug Use: How Article 112a Cases Compare (overview)
- Drug Use Sentences in 2023: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Drug Use Sentences in 2025: Federal Court vs. Courts-Martial (previous or next year)
- Drug Use Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Air Force Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Army Courts-Martial
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Marine Corps Courts-Martial
- Drug Use: Federal Sentences vs. Navy Courts-Martial, 2016–2025
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Barksdale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Louisiana
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Beale AFB vs. Federal Court in the Eastern District of California
- Drug Use: Courts-Martial at Bremerton vs. Federal Court in the Western District of Washington
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- What Sentence Follows an Army Drug Conviction? (court-martial data)
- How Often Are Contested Army Article 112a Cases Acquitted? (court-martial data)
- Guilty Pleas in Army Drug Cases: How Often, and What Came Next (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Air Force? (court-martial data)
- Pleading Guilty to Article 112a in the Air Force: What Sentences Followed? (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (court-martial data)
- How Much Confinement for an Article 112a Conviction in the Navy-Marine Corps? (court-martial data)
- Fighting a Navy-Marine Corps Drug Charge: How Contested Cases Ended (court-martial data)
- When Navy-Marine Corps Accused Plead Guilty to Drug (court-martial data)
- Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends (court-martial data)
- Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis (law firm reference page)
- 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.