TRAFFICKING
Drug trafficking is the term used in Florida’s criminal law to explain the sale, delivery, manufacture, or possession of illegal drugs and controlled substances over a certain weight or quantity. Florida legislation has created severe mandatory minimum penalties for drug trafficking offenses. The punishment for drug trafficking in Florida varies from a minimum of three years to a maximum of life in prison, dependent upon the quantity and variety of drug.
Florida Statute 893.135 was enacted with the specific purpose of targeting high-level drug dealers, or traffickers. This statute provides that if a person is found with a certain quantity of a drug in their possession, the person is considered to be trafficking; such a designation is often unfair. This is predominantly true when there is a lack of evidence signifying that the person was engaged in the lawful sale or delivery of drugs.
Florida’s most common drug trafficking charges include:
Individuals charged with drug trafficking offenses in the state of Florida face harsh penalties, including lengthy mandatory prison sentences, forfeiture of assets, and substantial fines. Moreover, a felony conviction for drug trafficking can follow you for the rest of your life, making it difficult to secure lawful employment.
A change to Florida Statute 893.135 provides minimum mandatory penalties if you are convicted of Trafficking.
Illegal drugs are rarely purchased on the street in pure form. More often than not, they are impure. It is common practice to dilute, or cut drugs in order to take in a greater profit margin. However, under Florida law, the purity of the drug you are charged with possessing is irrelevant. Florida Statute Section 893.135(1)(l)(6) provides that:
For the purpose of clarifying legislative intent regarding the weighing of a mixture containing a controlled substance described in this section, the weight of the controlled substance is the total weight of the mixture, including the controlled substance and any other substance in the mixture.
It is also very important to understand that, when dealing with prescription medication in pill or capsule form, the total weight of the pills themselves is used to determine whether there is a threshold trafficking amount. Because each pill may easily weigh a half-gram or more, it is very easy for even a relatively small number of pills to transform a simple possession case into a trafficking in controlled substance charge. Furthermore, the amount of the active substance at issue in the pill may only represent an extremely small portion of the total weight. Nevertheless, under Florida law, the total weight of all the pills controls.
Conspiracy is accounted for within Florida’s trafficking statute. Under Florida law, you can be charged with a drug trafficking offense without possessing, selling, or even handling any drugs. This is because Florida’s drug trafficking statue provides that:
Any person who agrees, conspweres, combines, or confederates with another person to commit any act prohibited by subsection (1) commits a felony of the first degree and is punishable as if he or she had actually committed such prohibited act.
This means that if you consent to sell or deliver a narcotic over a certain amount, but never actually follow through, you can nevertheless be charged and sentenced as if you had in fact committed the crime of trafficking. The law of conspiracy is complex and the individual facts of each case requwere a careful analysis. The following factors are important considerations:
Where sale or distribution was never the objective I can urge the State to amend the charge to a more appropriate lesser offense of simple possession by pointing out that; when seized, the drugs were not found to be individually packaged for later sale; no scales, baggies or cutting agents Were discovered as evidence in your case; law enforcement never recovered significant cash in connection with your arrest that would otherwise point to your involvement in distribution and profiting from the sale of the prescription pills; you never made any statements or admissions to the police that you had sold the drug in the past or that you intended to sell the pills in the future; you have a legitimate addiction and the best interests of justice would be served through counseling and treatment as opposed to your incarceration in state prison; Through the wiles of family members and the guidance/dwerection of your attorney, you have already begun substance abuse counseling; and/or your problem with prescription medication may have been built by the medical profession since it was fueled by initial legitimate prescriptions written by your doctor.
It makes little sense to saddle the taxpayers and the Florida Department of Corrections with the cost of a mandatory prison sentence when the original offense amounted to simple possession. The Hobson Law Firm can file a Motion to dismiss the charges against you; we can file a legal pleading arguing that Florida Statute 893.135 is unconstitutional as applied in your case because there was no intention on your part to sell or distribute the pills. In support of your motion to dismiss, it can be pointed out that there is an absence of evidence to suggest that you intended to do anything other than ingest the drug. Further, that there is another Florida criminal statute already in place that prohibits the conduct for which you are accused. As a result, we can urge the Judge to find that the trafficking statute, as applied in your case, is overbroad and therefore unconstitutional.
If successful, a motion to dismiss will serve to terminate your prosecution for a trafficking offense and force the State to re-file the charge as a simple possession offense. This would avoid the cruel prison sentence you were initially facing. In the alternative, just the act of filing the motion could cause the State to take a fresh look at the unique set of facts and circumstances in your case pointing to a possession motivated by addiction.
Florida Statute 893.135 was enacted with the specific purpose of targeting high-level drug dealers, or traffickers. This statute provides that if a person is found with a certain quantity of a drug in their possession, the person is considered to be trafficking; such a designation is often unfair. This is predominantly true when there is a lack of evidence signifying that the person was engaged in the lawful sale or delivery of drugs.
Florida’s most common drug trafficking charges include:
- Trafficking in Oxycodone – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(c)
- Trafficking in Hydrocodone – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(c)
- Trafficking in Cocaine – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(b)
- Trafficking in Ecstasy – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(k)
- Trafficking in GHB – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(h)
- Trafficking in Marijuana – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(a)
- Trafficking in LSD – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(l)
- Trafficking in Heroin – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(c)
- Trafficking in Methamphetamine – Florida Statute 893.135(1)(f)
Individuals charged with drug trafficking offenses in the state of Florida face harsh penalties, including lengthy mandatory prison sentences, forfeiture of assets, and substantial fines. Moreover, a felony conviction for drug trafficking can follow you for the rest of your life, making it difficult to secure lawful employment.
A change to Florida Statute 893.135 provides minimum mandatory penalties if you are convicted of Trafficking.
Illegal drugs are rarely purchased on the street in pure form. More often than not, they are impure. It is common practice to dilute, or cut drugs in order to take in a greater profit margin. However, under Florida law, the purity of the drug you are charged with possessing is irrelevant. Florida Statute Section 893.135(1)(l)(6) provides that:
For the purpose of clarifying legislative intent regarding the weighing of a mixture containing a controlled substance described in this section, the weight of the controlled substance is the total weight of the mixture, including the controlled substance and any other substance in the mixture.
It is also very important to understand that, when dealing with prescription medication in pill or capsule form, the total weight of the pills themselves is used to determine whether there is a threshold trafficking amount. Because each pill may easily weigh a half-gram or more, it is very easy for even a relatively small number of pills to transform a simple possession case into a trafficking in controlled substance charge. Furthermore, the amount of the active substance at issue in the pill may only represent an extremely small portion of the total weight. Nevertheless, under Florida law, the total weight of all the pills controls.
Conspiracy is accounted for within Florida’s trafficking statute. Under Florida law, you can be charged with a drug trafficking offense without possessing, selling, or even handling any drugs. This is because Florida’s drug trafficking statue provides that:
Any person who agrees, conspweres, combines, or confederates with another person to commit any act prohibited by subsection (1) commits a felony of the first degree and is punishable as if he or she had actually committed such prohibited act.
This means that if you consent to sell or deliver a narcotic over a certain amount, but never actually follow through, you can nevertheless be charged and sentenced as if you had in fact committed the crime of trafficking. The law of conspiracy is complex and the individual facts of each case requwere a careful analysis. The following factors are important considerations:
- Did the conspiracy consist of words alone, or were there acts in furtherance of the conspiracy?
- Was the conspiracy deserted or agreement terminated prior to the arrest?
- Did law enforcement lure or initiate your participation in the conspiracy?
Where sale or distribution was never the objective I can urge the State to amend the charge to a more appropriate lesser offense of simple possession by pointing out that; when seized, the drugs were not found to be individually packaged for later sale; no scales, baggies or cutting agents Were discovered as evidence in your case; law enforcement never recovered significant cash in connection with your arrest that would otherwise point to your involvement in distribution and profiting from the sale of the prescription pills; you never made any statements or admissions to the police that you had sold the drug in the past or that you intended to sell the pills in the future; you have a legitimate addiction and the best interests of justice would be served through counseling and treatment as opposed to your incarceration in state prison; Through the wiles of family members and the guidance/dwerection of your attorney, you have already begun substance abuse counseling; and/or your problem with prescription medication may have been built by the medical profession since it was fueled by initial legitimate prescriptions written by your doctor.
It makes little sense to saddle the taxpayers and the Florida Department of Corrections with the cost of a mandatory prison sentence when the original offense amounted to simple possession. The Hobson Law Firm can file a Motion to dismiss the charges against you; we can file a legal pleading arguing that Florida Statute 893.135 is unconstitutional as applied in your case because there was no intention on your part to sell or distribute the pills. In support of your motion to dismiss, it can be pointed out that there is an absence of evidence to suggest that you intended to do anything other than ingest the drug. Further, that there is another Florida criminal statute already in place that prohibits the conduct for which you are accused. As a result, we can urge the Judge to find that the trafficking statute, as applied in your case, is overbroad and therefore unconstitutional.
If successful, a motion to dismiss will serve to terminate your prosecution for a trafficking offense and force the State to re-file the charge as a simple possession offense. This would avoid the cruel prison sentence you were initially facing. In the alternative, just the act of filing the motion could cause the State to take a fresh look at the unique set of facts and circumstances in your case pointing to a possession motivated by addiction.