What sentence should I expect for a first-time drug offense?

It depends on the substance, the amount, and your role. For first-time, small-scale use, outcomes range from a treatment-conditioned suspension of indictment to a suspended prison sentence. Methamphetamine is treated more severely than cannabis. Supplying, selling, or importing moves the case into a much more serious category, where actual imprisonment is common. Early mitigation — treatment, clean test results, and family support — matters.