; with over half (58.4 percent) of all drug trafficking offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty. (7) According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, drug offenders released from prison in 1986 who had been sentenced before the adoption of mandatory sentences and sentencing guidelines had served an average of 22 months in prison. In fiscal year 2018, the average sentence for drug trafficking offenders subject to a mandatory minimum penalty was more than 10 years (131 months