Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018
In fiscal year 2018, 7,489 people received federal sentences for methamphetamine trafficking, and 98% of them pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). For the 156 people convicted at trial and sent to prison, the median was 207.5 months.
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In brief: In fiscal year 2018, 7,489 people received federal sentences for methamphetamine trafficking, and 98% of them pleaded guilty. The median prison term was 78 months (6.5 years). For the 156 people convicted at trial and sent to prison, the median was 207.5 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 7,489 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2018. 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.
Trial Sentences and Plea Sentences in 2018
Of the 7,489 people in this count, 7,333 pleaded guilty. 156 were found guilty after a trial.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 77 months. After a trial, the median was 207.5 months. Trial sentences were much longer at the median, but the trial group is small and its cases may differ from plea cases in charges, drug amounts, or criminal history. The records cannot separate those factors.
Nearly every guilty plea was negotiated. 92% of the pleas had a written plea agreement, and 8% were straight pleas with no agreement.
Mandatory Minimums Applied in 74% of Cases
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5,531 people, 74% of the total. Across every drug in fiscal year 2018, the figure for §2D1.1 trafficking cases was 61%. For methamphetamine across fiscal years 2016 to 2025, it was 71%.
When a mandatory minimum applies, the statute sets the lowest prison term the judge may impose, apart from narrow exceptions.
The Spread of Prison Terms
Prison was ordered for 7,356 of the 7,489 people (98%). Probation alone, with no confinement, was ordered for 99 (1%).
The median term of 78 months means that the middle person in the prison group received 78 months. One quarter received 121 months or more. One quarter received 46 months or less. 19 people received a life sentence.
The 2018 median was higher than the 60-month median for all drug trafficking cases that fiscal year. It was lower than the 80-month median for methamphetamine across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The yearly table lists each fiscal year side by side.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 6,567 | 70 months | 98% |
| 2017 | 7,198 | 72 months | 98% |
| 2018 | 7,489 | 78 months | 98% |
| 2019 | 8,394 | 78 months | 98% |
| 2020 | 7,460 | 80 months | 98% |
| 2021 | 8,427 | 72 months | 99% |
| 2022 | 9,653 | 80 months | 98% |
| 2023 | 8,961 | 87 months | 98% |
| 2024 | 8,237 | 87 months | 98% |
| 2025 | 7,536 | 96 months | 98% |
Position Against the Guideline Range
Information on the guideline range was available for 7,488 people. The largest share of sentences was below the range at the government's request: 48% (3,579).
Within-range sentences were 29% (2,166). Sentences below the range without a government request were 23% (1,692). Sentences above the range were less than 1% (51).
After Prison
Supervised release was ordered for 7,258 people (97%), with a median term of 48 months. 4 people (less than 1%) were ordered to supervised release for life.
A fine appeared in 365 sentences (5%), and restitution in 112 (1%).
Criminal History Categories
The guidelines place each person in a criminal history category from category I to category VI. In fiscal year 2018, 41% of the methamphetamine group was in category I and 15% was in category VI.
Scope and Limits
The source is U.S. Sentencing Commission data on people sentenced under guideline §2D1.1 whose primary recorded drug was methamphetamine. Fiscal year 2018 ran from October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018. People who were acquitted or whose charges were dismissed are not included.
Courts-martial do not record drug type in a way that can be counted and keep no criminal history field, so no military figure appears here. Military drug distribution cases appear in the drug distribution posts. The data also cannot explain the reasons for any individual sentence.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2018 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was methamphetamine (7,489), 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Drug Distribution and Importation: Federal vs. Court-Martial Sentences, 2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2017 (previous or next year)
- Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2019 (previous or next year)
- Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2018 (same year, other drug)
- Drug Distribution Sentences Since the 2023 Military Sentencing Reform: What the Data Shows So Far
- Drug Distribution Charges: How Often Federal Trials and Courts-Martial End in Acquittal
- §2D1.1 Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Trafficking (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses): Federal Sentences, FY2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Army Article 112a Cases by the Numbers, 2021–2025 (court-martial data)
- Are Air Force Drug Courts-Martial Disappearing? Article 112a, 2016–2025 (court-martial data)
- Is Navy-Marine Corps Drug Prosecution Rising or Falling? Article 112a, 2017–2025 (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.