New Jersey drug laws create a special crime where a person is in possession of a firearm while “in the course of” committing, attempting or conspiring to commit a drug offense within 500 ft. of a public facility.  The consequences of a conviction under this section of the statute are dire.

Under the law, the  defendant does not have to have actual possession of the gun.  Constructive possession will suffice.  The term “in the course of” has been broadly interpreted as well.  In one case a defendant was found guilty under the statute where he was outside his apartment when the gun and drugs were found inside.  The outcome may have been different if the defendant was farther away or the gun was separated from the drugs by a greater distance.