According to the United States Sentencing Commission, drug cases continue to be among the largest numbers of cases in the category of federal criminal cases. In the fiscal year 2025, there were 16,234 drug-related criminal cases in the federal courts.

An investigation into drug-related crimes often doesn’t begin at the point of arrest. By the time the police choose to arrest someone and perform a search, they have already conducted months of investigation. According to the United States Sentencing Commission,