Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023
In fiscal year 2023, 577 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking where the primary drug was coded as other drug, and the median prison term was 36.5 months (3 years). The most common sentence position was below the guideline range at the government's request: 42% (243). 547 people (95
Understanding Trends in Military Practice · 7 min read
Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Drug Distribution and Importation › Other Drug: FY2023
In brief: In fiscal year 2023, 577 people were sentenced in federal court for trafficking where the primary drug was coded as other drug, and the median prison term was 36.5 months (3 years). The most common sentence position was below the guideline range at the government's request: 42% (243). 547 people (95%) pleaded guilty, and 30 were convicted after a trial.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 577 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.
Government Requests for Lower Sentences
Federal judges calculate a guideline range in months for each person. The U.S. Sentencing Commission then records whether the sentence was within that range, below it, or above it. For fiscal year 2023, that position was recorded for all 577 people in this category.
In 243 cases, or 42%, the sentence was below the range because the government asked for it. In 170 cases (29%), the sentence was below the range with no government request. Within-range sentences numbered 150 (26%), and above-range sentences numbered 14 (2%).
The records do not give the reason for a government request.
About These Records
Cases here were sentenced under guideline §2D1.1, and the Commission listed their primary drug type as other. The substances included in that code are not named in the data used for this post.
The count includes convicted and sentenced people only. Fiscal year 2023 ran from October 1, 2022, until September 30, 2023.
Trials in Fiscal Year 2023
30 people were convicted after a trial. The other 547 pleaded guilty, which is 95% of the group. The yearly table shows a plea rate of 95% or higher in every fiscal year from 2016 to 2025.
For the 29 trial defendants sent to prison, the median prison term was 84 months. For those who pleaded guilty, it was 36 months. The trial group is small and was not matched with the plea group on drug amount or criminal history.
Among guilty pleas, 95% had a written plea agreement, and 5% were straight pleas.
| 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% |
How Long Were Prison Terms?
Prison terms were imposed on 490 people (85%). Their median was 36.5 months. A quarter of them received 75 months or more, and a quarter received 14 months or less.
Probation alone, with no prison or other confinement, was given to 72 people (12%).
Comparisons With All Years and All Drugs
Over fiscal years 2016 to 2025, the median prison term for this category was 40 months, higher than in fiscal year 2023. A mandatory minimum applied to 23% over those years. In fiscal year 2023 it applied to 102 people, or 18%.
All §2D1.1 trafficking cases in fiscal year 2023, every drug included, numbered 18,640. They had a median prison term of 65 months, and a mandatory minimum applied to 65%. Both figures were higher than in the other drug category.
Supervision and Money Penalties
Supervised release was part of 490 sentences (85%), with a median term of 36 months. Fines were part of 72 sentences (12%) and restitution of 33 (6%).
The Commission placed 58% of the group in criminal history category I and 7% in category VI. Category I is the lowest, and category VI is the highest.
What the Data Cannot Answer
Courts-martial do not record drug type in a way that can be counted, and their records have no criminal history field. This post therefore gives no military number. The drug distribution posts compare military and federal cases.
Federal sentencing data cannot show the drug quantity, the evidence, or the plea offers in any case. Acquittals and dismissals are outside it.
How We Counted
People sentenced in fiscal year 2023 whose primary guideline was §2D1.1 and whose primary drug type was other (577), 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 Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2022 (previous or next year)
- Federal Other Drug Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2024 (previous or next year)
- Federal Methamphetamine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Powder Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Heroin Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Fentanyl Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Marijuana Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (same year, other drug)
- Federal Crack Cocaine Trafficking Sentences, Fiscal Year 2023 (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.