§2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
Of the 15 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023 with §2D1.8 as the primary guideline, 13 (87%) went to prison. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), which is higher than the 16.2-month median for the guideline over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The group is small, so one year is not a trend.
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment › §2D1.8: FY2023
In brief: Of the 15 people sentenced in fiscal year 2023 with §2D1.8 as the primary guideline, 13 (87%) went to prison. The median prison term was 30 months (2.5 years), which is higher than the 16.2-month median for the guideline over fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The group is small, so one year is not a trend.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 15 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023. 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 30 Months
The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 15 people in fiscal year 2023 whose primary guideline was §2D1.8. The Guidelines Manual titles it "Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment; Attempt or Conspiracy." The fiscal year ran from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.
Of the 15, 13 (87%) received a prison term, and 2 (13%) received probation only. Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 30 months. A quarter received 36 months or more, and a quarter received 12 months or less.
The same median, 30 months, applied to everyone sentenced in federal court that year under every guideline. That group totaled 64,124 people. The medians are equal, but they count different mixes of offenses.
Comparing With the Guideline's Other Years
For all fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 173 people were sentenced under §2D1.8, with a median prison term of 16.2 months. The 2023 median is higher than that figure.
In fiscal year 2022, 22 people were sentenced under the guideline, with a median of 12 months. In fiscal year 2024, 13 people were sentenced, with a median of 15.7 months. The table lists every year from 2016 to 2025.
With 15 people in 2023, a few long or short terms can change the median a good deal. The records do not show whether the 2023 figure reflects a lasting change.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 19 | 12 months | 95% |
| 2017 | 24 | 15 months | 100% |
| 2018 | 21 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2019 | 12 | 24 months | 100% |
| 2020 | 17 | 16.5 months | 100% |
| 2021 | 22 | 21 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 22 | 12 months | 100% |
| 2023 | 15 | 30 months | 100% |
| 2024 | 13 | 15.7 months | 100% |
| 2025 | 8 | 2.5 months | 8 of 8 |
Pleas and Mandatory Minimums
All 15 people (100%) pleaded guilty, and 0 were convicted after a trial. Each guilty plea (100%) had a written plea agreement.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 15 people with that information recorded (0%). The records show no statutory floor for any person in this group.
Where the Sentences Fell Against the Guideline Range
Within the range were 3 sentences (20%). Below the range at the government's request were 9 (60%), and below the range without a government request were 3 (20%). No sentence (0%) was above the range.
For all guidelines in fiscal year 2023, 42% of sentences were within the range. The §2D1.8 share was lower. The 60% below the range at the government's request was the largest group in this year.
Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History
After prison, 13 people (87%) were ordered to serve supervised release, with a median term of 36 months. A fine was ordered for 3 people (20%), and restitution for 0 (0%).
Criminal history category I held 40% of the group, and the highest category (VI) held 7%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field, so there is no matching measure on the military side.
What the Numbers Leave Out
This data includes only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals, dismissals, or cases that were never charged, and it reports prison terms imposed, not time served.
The crosswalk used for this site has no close court-martial counterpart for §2D1.8, so the post reports the federal numbers on their own.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2023 whose primary sentencing guideline was §2D1.8 (15), U.S. Sentencing Commission 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)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next fiscal year)
- §2D1.8 Renting or Managing a Drug Establishment: Federal Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next fiscal year)
- How Often Federal Judges Sentence Outside the Guideline Range
- Mandatory Minimums: How Many Federal Sentences Are Set by Congress
- 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.