> ## 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. # Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:11:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:11:56.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2019, 1,637 of the 1,665 people sentenced for federal marijuana trafficking (98%) pleaded guilty, and their median prison term was 24 months. The 28 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 58 months. A mandatory minimum applied in 44% of the cases (733). - Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart - Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal [Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Drug Distribution and Importation](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) › Marijuana: FY2019 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2019, 1,637 of the 1,665 people sentenced for federal marijuana trafficking (98%) pleaded guilty, and their median prison term was 24 months. The 28 people convicted at trial had a median prison term of 58 months. A mandatory minimum applied in 44% of the cases (733). Updated November 3, 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 1,665 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2019\. 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/). ## Guilty Pleas Compared With Trials Only 28 marijuana trafficking cases in fiscal year 2019 ended in a conviction after trial. All 28 people were sent to prison, and their median prison term was 58 months. That is a small group, and a few cases can move its median. The 1,637 people who pleaded guilty had a median prison term of 24 months. Of those guilty pleas, 89% included a written plea agreement. The remaining 11% were straight pleas, entered without any agreement. The Commission's data does not record how strong the evidence was, the drug amounts, or the offers made before trial. The gap between these medians therefore cannot be read as the effect of going to trial. ## Prison Terms for the Whole Group Prison was ordered for 1,499 of the 1,665 people (90%). Probation with no prison or other confinement was ordered for 117 (7%). The overall median prison term was 24 months (2 years). A quarter received 46 months or more, and a quarter received 11.3 months or less. The median for marijuana across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 21 months. The median for all drugs sentenced under §2D1.1 in fiscal year 2019 was 60 months, among 19,463 people. The marijuana figure for 2019 was higher than the marijuana figure for all years and lower than the all-drug figure for 2019. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 3,398 | 18 months | 99% | | 2017 | 2,730 | 18 months | 98% | | 2018 | 2,101 | 21 months | 98% | | 2019 | 1,665 | 24 months | 98% | | 2020 | 1,116 | 21 months | 99% | | 2021 | 986 | 23 months | more than 99% | | 2022 | 796 | 24 months | 98% | | 2023 | 557 | 25 months | 98% | | 2024 | 464 | 30 months | more than 99% | | 2025 | 378 | 30 months | 97% | ## Mandatory Minimum Sentences A mandatory minimum sets a prison term the judge must impose unless an exception in the law applies. In fiscal year 2019 it applied to 733 marijuana cases, or 44%. Across all §2D1.1 drugs that year, the share was 69%. Across marijuana cases for fiscal years 2016 to 2025, it was 36%. ## Where the Sentence Fell Against the Guidelines The guideline range is the span of months the federal sentencing guidelines recommend. For all 1,665 people, the Commission recorded where the sentence fell. In 48% of cases (801), the sentence was within the range. The government requested a below-range sentence in 26% (435). The judge went below the range without a government request in 23% (385). Above-range sentences were 3% (44). ## Other Parts of the Sentence Supervised release after prison was ordered for 1,402 people (84%). Its median length was 36 months. Fines were ordered in 99 cases (6%), and restitution in 34 (2%). Category I, the lowest criminal history category, held 65% of the group. Category VI, the highest, held 5%. ## Definitions and Dates Fiscal year 2019 began October 1, 2018, and ended September 30, 2019\. The case counts include only people who were convicted and sentenced. They leave out acquittals and dismissals, so they cannot give an acquittal rate. Marijuana here means the primary drug type the Commission recorded. A case may have involved other drugs. ## What Cannot Be Compared There is no matching court-martial count. Military records do not record drug type in a way that can be counted, and they have no criminal history field. Separate posts compare military and federal drug distribution cases. ### How We Counted People sentenced in fiscal year 2019 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was marijuana (1,665), 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 **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. **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. **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](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) - [Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-importation-vs-article-112a/) (overview) - [Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2018/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-methamphetamine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-heroin-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2019/) (same year, other drug) - [Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-2023-sentencing-reform-so-far/) - [Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-distribution-acquittal-rate-vs-courts-martial/) - [§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/) (court-martial data) - [Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/army-article-112a-trend-2021-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/air-force-article-112a-trend-2016-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/navy-marine-corps-article-112a-trend-2017-2025/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a (Wrongful Use, Possession of Controlled Substances): Court-Martial Data and Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/article-112a-courts-martial/) (court-martial data) - [Article 112a UCMJ Drug Offenses and Positive Urinalysis](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/ucmj/article-112a-drug-offenses/?ref=bodiesburied.com) (law firm reference page) - [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.