For more information on these topics, see the related Pretrial entries on Deferral and Discharge Agreements for General Offenses (15A-1341) and for Drugs and Specific Offenses (G.S. 90-96), as well as the related Sentencing entry on Prayer for Judgment Continued.

The defendant must be sentenced under the law that was in effect at the time the defendant committed the felony offense. See State v. Whitehead, 365 N.C. 444 (2012). 

The structured sentencing grids set forth below correspond to offenses committed on the following dates:   

Drug trafficking convictions are sentenced pursuant to G.S. 90-95(h), based on the total quantity of drugs trafficked rather than the normal rules of structured sentencing.

Drug trafficking sentences are usually mandatory, but if the defendant provides the state with “substantial assistance” in the investigation or prosecution of related cases, the court may reduce the punishment.