> ## 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 Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021 - URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/ - Published: 2026-11-03T06:12:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-03T06:12:06.000Z - Description: In fiscal year 2021, 597 people were sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking with a primary drug coded as other drug. Of them, 506 (85%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Both the count and the median were lower than in each of fiscal years 2016 to 2020. - 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/) › Other Drug: FY2021 **In brief:** In fiscal year 2021, 597 people were sentenced in federal court for drug trafficking with a primary drug coded as other drug. Of them, 506 (85%) went to prison, and the median prison term was 33 months (2.8 years). Both the count and the median were lower than in each of fiscal years 2016 to 2020. 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 597 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal year 2021\. 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/). ## Fewer People Sentenced in Fiscal Year 2021 The U.S. Sentencing Commission counted 597 people in this category for fiscal year 2021\. Each fiscal year from 2016 to 2020 had more, ranging from 1,276 to 1,984, as the yearly table shows. The data does not explain the change. It counts people sentenced in a given year, not people charged or arrested, so it cannot show whether fewer cases were brought or whether cases took longer to reach sentencing. | Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty | | ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- | | 2016 | 1,276 | 37 months | 97% | | 2017 | 1,295 | 37 months | 96% | | 2018 | 1,376 | 46 months | 96% | | 2019 | 1,984 | 48 months | 97% | | 2020 | 1,845 | 42 months | 97% | | 2021 | 597 | 33 months | 97% | | 2022 | 675 | 32.3 months | 97% | | 2023 | 577 | 36.5 months | 95% | | 2024 | 514 | 36 months | 96% | | 2025 | 425 | 43 months | 95% | ## Which Cases Are Included Each case is counted under guideline §2D1.1 and the primary drug type the Commission recorded. In these cases the recorded type was other. The records used do not identify the substances behind that code. Only people who were convicted and sentenced appear. Acquittals and dismissals are not in the data. Fiscal year 2021 ran from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021. ## Prison Terms and Probation The median prison term for the 506 people sent to prison was 33 months. A quarter received 70 months or more. A quarter received 12 months or less. Probation only, with no prison or other confinement, was the sentence for 66 people (11%). Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025 combined, the median for this category was 40 months, higher than the 2021 figure. For every drug sentenced under §2D1.1 in fiscal year 2021, 17,241 people in all, the median was 60 months. ## Was a Mandatory Minimum Involved? A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 75 people, or 13%. The share for this category across fiscal years 2016 to 2025 was 23%, and the share for every drug in fiscal year 2021 was 71%. Both were higher than the 2021 share for this category. ## Guilty Pleas, Trials, and the Prison Terms That Followed Of the 597 people, 580 (97%) pleaded guilty and 17 were convicted at trial. A written plea agreement was part of 92% of the guilty pleas, and 7% were straight pleas. After a guilty plea, the median prison term was 30 months. After a trial, it was 96 months. Only 16 people convicted at trial were sent to prison, so the trial median rests on a small number of cases and is not a trend. ## Position Against the Guideline Range A guideline position was recorded for all 597 sentences. The largest share, 37% (223), was below the range at the government's request. Another 34% (204) were below the range without a government request. Within-range sentences were 26% (154), and above-range sentences were 3% (16). ## Supervision, Penalties, and Criminal History Supervised release was ordered for 501 people (84%), with a median term of 36 months. Fines were ordered for 58 (10%) and restitution for 31 (5%). In criminal history category I, the lowest, were 57% of the group. In category VI, the highest, were 5%. ## What These Records Do Not Cover Court-martial records do not code drug type in a countable way and do not record criminal history, so this post gives no military figure. The drug distribution posts make that comparison. The records show sentences for groups of people. They do not show drug quantities, the evidence, or why a given sentence was chosen. ### How We Counted People sentenced in fiscal year 2021 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was other (597), 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 Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2020](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2020/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-other-drug-trafficking-sentences-fy2022/) (previous or next year) - [Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-methamphetamine-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-powder-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-heroin-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Fentanyl Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fentanyl-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (same year, other drug) - [Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2021](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-crack-cocaine-trafficking-sentences-fy2021/) (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.