Thank you for asking me “What is the difference between Drug Possession and Trafficking in FL?”
In FL “possession” is defined as “having, holding or exercising power or control over some item”, and in the context of controlled substances it means that you either knowingly had drugs on your person or that you were caught close enough to the drugs for the law to consider you to have constructively been in possession.
The difference between mere possession and trafficking boils down to nothing more than weight. There are no extra requirements, no legal technicalities and no magic words… it simply boils down to the weight of the substance.
Lets take cocaine for example. Possession of any amount of cocaine is a felony in FL. But if you possess one ounce – 28 grams – or more of cocaine then you have crossed the line from mere possession (which is a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison) to trafficking (which is a 1st degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison).
So trafficking is essentially super-possession. It merely jacks up what would otherwise be a 3rd degree felony into a 1st degree felony.
Apart from adding an additional 25 years to the potential sentence trafficking charges also carry “minimum mandatory” penalties meaning that if you are found guilty then, absent a statutory basis for departure, the court is required to sentence you to a prison term which must be served day for day, without any gain time or time off of your sentence for good behavior.
Trafficking minimum mandatory sentences also increase based on the weight of the substance in question.
At Michael A. Haber, PA “it’s all about reasonable doubt”!
Please note that no attorney-client relationship with either Michael A. Haber, PA or Michael A. Haber, Esq. exists as a result of your watching this Webisode series. Further any and all information which is both contained in and may be construed from this Webisode series is generic in nature and should only be considered as informational and not as actual legal advise in any specific case. Should you wish to seek actual legal advise then please feel free to contact Michael A. Haber, Esq. as follows:
Office Phone: 305-381-8686
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Cellular Phone / Text: 305-798-2220
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