The State of Florida has a number of minimum mandatory sentences that are triggered when a person is charged with trafficking in illegal drugs. This applies anywhere in Florida, whether you are in Dunedin, Clearwater, Tampa, Miami or elsewhere. While it is commonly believed that for a person to be charged with drug trafficking, they must either sell or intend to sell large quantities of drugs-unfortunately that is often not true. In Florida, a person merely possessing enough of an illegal (or unprescribed) drug is all that is required for that person to be charged with drug trafficking.
Imagine you are driving to your home in Dunedin, FL from a friend’s place in Largo, FL and you are pulled over by the police because you allegedly didn’t use a turn signal when required to. The officer asks for your drivers license and other documentation, and then returns to his vehicle. The officer comes back with your information, hands it to you and says “I’m just going to give you a warning but do you mind if I search your car?”. At that point you say “sure”, the officer then searches the car and finds a plastic baggie with a number of Oxycodone pills that weighs a little over 8 grams. Officer then show you the baggie and asks if you have prescription. You just want to be honest, so you say “no, I was just holding them for a friend.” At that point you are placed in handcuffs, read your Miranda rights and carted off to jail. To your horror the booking deputy at the Pinellas County Jail informs you that you are being charged with Trafficking in Oxycodone based on the combined wight of the pills. Your bond is set at $50,000, you are dressed in Orange and then put in a pod with 75 of your newest friends.
If all that seems like a nightmare it is a very real scenario to the many people charged with violating Florida’s strict drug trafficking laws. Florida Statute § 893.135 deals trafficking and associated mandatory sentences. The statute states: “Any person who knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, ……”. So the clear language of the statute makes clear that a person simply being in possession of the minimum weight of certain drugs is enough for that person to be charged with trafficking.
Some examples of controlled substances that do carry certain minimum mandatory penalties are as follows:
As you can see the penalties for drug trafficking are very severe in Florida. The only way to negotiate away a minimum mandatory sentence is by agreement of the State Attorney. If you are convicted of one of these trafficking offenses the court has no power to do away with the minimum mandatory sentence so if you are ever arrested in Dunedin, Clearwater, Palm Harbor, New Port Richey or any other place in the Tampa Bay area, call Hendry & Parker, P.A. so we can get started on your defense right away