> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bodiesburied.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-2-drug-offenses-occurring-near-protected-locations-or/ - Published: 2026-11-03T01:38:11.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T01:38:11.000Z - Description: A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 96% of the 2,553 people sentenced under §2D1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. 99% received prison, and the median prison term was 72 months. 98% pleaded guilty. - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › §2D1.2 **In brief:** A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 96% of the 2,553 people sentenced under §2D1.2 in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. 99% received prison, and the median prison term was 72 months. 98% pleaded guilty. Updated November 2, 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 2,553 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/). ## Almost Every Sentence Involved a Mandatory Minimum Guideline §2D1.2 is titled "Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals; Attempt or Conspiracy." It applies to drug offenses tied to protected locations or to underage or pregnant individuals, as the title says, and to attempts and conspiracies. A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 2,447 of 2,553 people (96%). A mandatory minimum is a prison term the law requires at least. The sheet does not give the length of the minimums or say which sentences they set. ## Prison Terms 2,527 people (99%) received a prison term, and 18 (less than 1%) received probation only. The median prison term was 72 months (6 years). A quarter received 108 months or more, and a quarter received 46 months or less. 1 person received a life sentence. ## Pleas Versus Trials 2,495 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 58 were convicted after a trial. 96% of guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and 4% were straight pleas. The median prison term was 70 months after a guilty plea and 210 months after a trial. All 58 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so the trial median rests on a small group. The records do not show whether those cases were alike, or why the terms differ. Among guilty pleas, the written plea agreement was the usual form. ## Range Positions Of 2,553 cases with the information, 53% (1,348) were within the guideline range. 29% (735) were below it at the government's request, and 15% (386) were below it without a government request. 3% (84) were above the range. ## Supervised Release and Criminal History Supervised release was ordered for 2,526 people (99%), with a median term of 72 months. A fine was ordered for 54 people (2%), and restitution for 28 (1%). In criminal history, 53% were in the lowest category and 8% were in the highest. ## Medians by Year The yearly median prison term was 70 months from 2016 to 2018 and 66.5 months in 2020\. It was 75.4 months in 2021, 84 months in 2023, 78 months in 2024, and 72 months in 2025\. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 1,114 people with a median of 70 months, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 1,439 with a median of 72 months. The yearly count was 328 in 2016 and 177 in 2025\. The records do not show why. The share who pleaded guilty was 95% in 2019, 100% in 2025, and between those figures in other years. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 328 | 70 months | 97% | | 2017 | 287 | 70 months | 97% | | 2018 | 218 | 70 months | 97% | | 2019 | 281 | 70 months | 95% | | 2020 | 297 | 66.5 months | 98% | | 2021 | 252 | 75.4 months | 99% | | 2022 | 208 | 70.2 months | more than 99% | | 2023 | 276 | 84 months | 98% | | 2024 | 229 | 78 months | 97% | | 2025 | 177 | 72 months | 100% | ## Limits The approved crosswalk has no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline. The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced and reports terms imposed, not time served. ### How We Counted Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.2 (2,553), from the U.S. Sentencing Commission's individual data files. The primary guideline is the one that set the offense level for the most serious count. 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) - [§2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-1-unlawful-manufacturing-importing-exporting-or-trafficking-including/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-1-unlawful-possession/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d2-2-acquiring-a-controlled-substance-by-forgery-fraud/) (same guideline chapter part) - [§2D1.11 Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-guideline-2d1-11-unlawfully-distributing-importing-exporting-or-possessing-a/) (same guideline chapter part) - [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.