SentenceCalc

Federal Drug Trafficking Sentence Calculator

Federal drug sentences are driven by two things: the drug and the amount. The Drug Quantity Table in §2D1.1 turns them into a starting level from 6 to 38, and the statute, 21 U.S.C. §841, adds 5- and 10-year mandatory minimums at fixed amounts. Someone with no criminal history points who has 500 grams of cocaine and pleads guilty scores 30–37 months under the guidelines, but the law requires 5 years unless the safety valve or a government cooperation motion applies. With the safety valve the guideline range is 24–30 months.

Verified Checked against the manual text in at least five AI-assisted review rounds. Not yet reviewed by an attorney. Guidelines Manual effective November 1, 2025Updated October 4, 2026

Starting levels6 to 38Drug Quantity Table
5-year minimum500 g cocaineor 40 g fentanyl, 100 g heroin
10-year minimum5 kg cocaineor 400 g fentanyl, 1 kg heroin
Safety valveBelow the minimumfor people with little record, no gun, no violence

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How a federal drug sentence is calculated

Drug trafficking cases, including distribution, possession with intent to distribute, manufacturing, importing and conspiracy to do any of these, are scored under §2D1.1:

  1. Drug and amount. The Drug Quantity Table gives the starting level. The weight is the whole mixture, cutting agents included, except for drugs the table measures by purity, such as “actual” methamphetamine.
  2. Offense facts. A gun or other dangerous weapon possessed adds 2 (§2D1.1(b)(1)); using, threatening or directing violence adds 2 ((b)(2)); keeping a place to make or sell drugs adds 2 ((b)(12)); knowingly passing off fentanyl as another drug adds 4 ((b)(13)). About a dozen less common factors exist, such as importing by private aircraft or distributing in a prison.
  3. Role. Leaders add 2 to 4 levels. Couriers, lookouts and other low-level participants can get 2 to 4 off, and for them a high starting level is also cut back: level 32 drops by 2, level 34 drops by 3, and anything higher drops to 32; with a minimal-role (4-level) reduction, anything still above 30 drops to 30 (§2D1.1(a)(5)).
  4. Plea, record and the table. A guilty plea takes off 2 or 3 levels, someone with zero criminal history points may get 2 more off, and the final level meets criminal history on the sentencing table.
  5. Mandatory minimums. If the amount triggers a 5- or 10-year minimum, the sentence cannot go below it unless the safety valve applies or the government files a motion for cooperation.

Mandatory minimum amounts by drug

Drug5-year minimum10-year minimum
Fentanyl40 g400 g
Fentanyl analogue10 g100 g
Heroin100 g1 kg
Cocaine (powder)500 g5 kg
Crack cocaine28 g280 g
Methamphetamine (mixture)50 g500 g
Pure methamphetamine or “ice”5 g50 g
Marijuana100 kg1,000 kg

Amounts are the mixture weight, except pure methamphetamine and “ice”, which are measured by the methamphetamine they contain. With one prior serious drug felony or serious violent felony, the minimums rise to 10 and 15 years; with two or more, the 10-year minimum becomes 25 years (21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1), after the First Step Act of 2018). A death or serious injury from use of the drug raises the minimum to 20 years.

Drug sentences for common situations

Each row assumes no criminal record, an early guilty plea, and the 2-level zero-point reduction where it is available. The last column shows the sentence after any mandatory minimum.

SituationHow it adds upLevelGuideline sentence
500 g of cocaine
5-year minimum applies		24 drug quantity table −3 plea −2 zero-point1960 months
5 years
Same, with the safety valve
Minimum lifted		24 drug quantity table −2 safety valve −3 plea −2 zero-point1724–30 months
2 years to 2 years, 6 months
Courier carrying 5 kg of cocaine, minor role
10-year minimum applies		30 drug quantity table −2 minor role −3 plea −2 zero-point23120 months
10 years
Same courier, with the safety valve
Minimum lifted		30 drug quantity table −2 minor role −2 safety valve −3 plea −2 zero-point2137–46 months
3 years, 1 month to 3 years, 10 months
50 g of fentanyl, gun kept in the house
No safety valve with a gun		24 drug quantity table +2 weapon possessed −3 plea2360 months
5 years
100 lb of marijuana
No minimum under 100 kg		18 drug quantity table −3 plea −2 zero-point1312–18 months
1 year to 1 year, 6 months
1 lb of pure methamphetamine (“ice”)
10-year minimum applies		32 drug quantity table −3 plea −2 zero-point27120 months
10 years
Ran a stash house holding 15 kg of cocaine
10-year minimum applies		32 drug quantity table +2 drug premises −3 plea −2 zero-point29120 months
10 years

How the amount is counted

  • Everything in the same course of dealing counts, not only what was seized. Earlier sales, amounts negotiated, and drugs described in texts or by witnesses are added in (§1B1.3(a)(2)).
  • In a conspiracy, partners' drugs count if they were within the scope of what the person agreed to and reasonably foreseeable. A courier is usually held to the loads they carried, not the whole organization's volume.
  • Different drugs are combined by converting each to a common “converted drug weight” and adding them. The calculator above does this when more than one drug is entered. Mandatory minimums, by contrast, look at each drug separately.
  • Attempt and conspiracy are sentenced like the finished deal. There is no discount for a deal that fell through (21 U.S.C. §846).
  • Purity can matter a great deal for methamphetamine. Pure (“actual”) meth and “ice” (80% purity or more) are counted at ten times the weight of an ordinary mixture.

Ways below the minimum

Three routes lead below a drug mandatory minimum. The safety valve (18 U.S.C. §3553(f), §5C1.2) is for people without a significant record who had no gun, used no violence, were not leaders and tell the government everything they know; it also takes 2 levels off. A government motion for substantial assistance can take the sentence below both the range and the minimum. Charge bargaining, pleading to a count that carries no minimum, is the third.

Separately, the 2025 manual tells courts that a mitigating-role reduction is generally warranted when a person's main job was a low-level trafficking function such as courier or lookout, whether or not others were involved (§2D1.1(e)(2)).

Drug-by-drug calculators

Frequently asked questions

What is the sentence for trafficking 500 grams of cocaine?

That amount triggers a 5-year mandatory minimum. The guideline range for someone with no criminal history points who pleads guilty is lower (30–37 months), so the minimum controls and the guideline sentence becomes 5 years. With the safety valve the range is 24–30 months.

Is conspiracy to distribute punished less than distribution?

No. A drug conspiracy or attempt carries the same guideline and the same mandatory minimums as the completed offense. What changes is which drugs are counted: the ones within the scope of the agreement that were reasonably foreseeable.

What is the safety valve?

A rule that lets the judge sentence below a drug mandatory minimum if the person has no more than 4 criminal history points (not counting 1-point offenses), no prior 3-point offense or 2-point violent offense, had no gun, used no violence, caused no death or serious injury, was not a leader, and gives the government all the information they have. It also takes 2 levels off the guideline.

Does having a gun change a drug sentence?

Yes, in three ways. A gun possessed in connection with the offense adds 2 levels, it rules out the safety valve and the zero-point reduction, and if prosecutors charge 18 U.S.C. §924(c), at least 5 more years are added on top. In the 50-gram fentanyl example, the gun is the difference between 5 years and a possible safety-valve range.

How are couriers and mules sentenced?

They are held to the drugs they knowingly carried, usually with a 2- to 4-level minor or minimal role reduction and a lower starting point for high quantities. A courier with no criminal history points carrying 5 kg of cocaine scores 10 years because of the 10-year minimum, or 37–46 months with the safety valve.

Sources