§2D1.7 Unlawful Sale or Transportation of Drug Paraphernalia: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15 people were sentenced under guideline §2D1.7. 9 (60%) received a prison term, but the median prison term was 0 months. All 15 pleaded guilty, and none faced a mandatory minimum.
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In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 15 people were sentenced under guideline §2D1.7. 9 (60%) received a prison term, but the median prison term was 0 months. All 15 pleaded guilty, and none faced a mandatory minimum.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 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.
A Median Prison Term of 0 Months
The median prison term among the 9 people with a prison term was 0 months. The sheet does not say how a term of 0 months arose. A quarter received 6 months or more, and a quarter received 0 months or less.
For readers, the median is a poor guide here. Some terms in the yearly table are much higher, such as 28 months in 2018 and 12 months in 2019.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6 | 0 months | 6 of 6 |
| 2017 | 2 | n/a | 2 of 2 |
| 2018 | 3 | 28 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2019 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2025 | 1 | n/a | 1 of 1 |
Which Conduct Does the Guideline Cover?
The Sentencing Guidelines Manual titles §2D1.7 "Unlawful Sale or Transportation of Drug Paraphernalia; Attempt or Conspiracy." The title names selling or moving drug paraphernalia, along with attempts and conspiracies.
The Commission lists these 15 cases under the offense type Other.
Probation and Prison
Of 15 people, 9 (60%) received a prison term and 4 (27%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement. The remaining 2 are not placed in either group by the sheet.
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 4 people (27%), with a median term of 12 months.
Pleas
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and no one was convicted after a trial. Among the guilty pleas, 80% had a written plea agreement and 20% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Sentences Compared With the Guideline Range
The sentence was within the range for 7 people (47%). It was below the range at the government's request for 6 people (40%). It was below the range without a government request for 1 person (7%), and above the range for 1 person (7%).
A government request was thus behind a large share of the below-range sentences in this group.
Fines, Restitution, and Criminal History
A fine was ordered for 2 people (13%). Restitution was ordered for 0. In criminal history, 80% were in the lowest category I and 0% in the highest (VI).
Over the Years
Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 12 people with a median prison term of 0 months. Fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 3 people with a median of 0 months. The medians match, and the later group is very small.
The table lists no cases for fiscal years 2020, 2022, 2023, or 2024.
What a Median of 0 Does and Does Not Show
A median prison term of 0 months for the 9 people with a prison term is a number on the sheet, but the sheet does not explain it. It may reflect terms recorded as 0 months in the Commission files. The records here cannot say.
The sheet does list higher figures by year: 28 months for 3 people in 2018 and 12 months for 1 person in 2019. The overall median therefore hides a wide spread between the lowest and highest terms.
Limits
The data counts only people who were convicted and sentenced. Acquittals and dismissals are not in it. Prison terms are those imposed, not time served.
The approved crosswalk lists no close court-martial counterpart for this guideline, so the numbers stand alone.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.7 (15), 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.
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)
- §2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D1.2 Drug Offenses Occurring Near Protected Locations or Involving Underage or Pregnant Individuals: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D2.1 Unlawful Possession: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D2.2 Acquiring a Controlled Substance by Forgery, Fraud, Deception, or Subterfuge: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- §2D1.11 Unlawfully Distributing, Importing, Exporting or Possessing a Listed Chemical: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (same guideline chapter part)
- 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.