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Top Heroin Possession Defense Attorney Jason Cromey, Esq. on:
Possession of Heroin: F.S. 893.13
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Possession of Heroin – Heroin was unregulated and sold legally in the United States until 1920, when Congress enacted the Dangerous Drug Act. It goes without saying that it remains illegal in Florida to possess heroin, no matter how little. Section 893.13, Florida Statutes, makes possession of heroin a third-degree felony crime carrying a punishment of up to 5 years in state prison.
Under Florida law, there are two types of possession: actual and constructive. Actual possession means the person is aware of the presence of the substance and that it is either:
- In the hand of, or on the person;
- In a container in the hand of or on the person; or
- The substance is so close as to be within ready reach and is under the person’s control.
Simply put, actual possession means it’s on you or next to you, and you know it. The second type of possession is constructive possession. Constructive possession means that the person is aware of the presence of the heroin, the heroin is in a place over which the person has control, and the person can control the heroin. An example of constructive possession is having a bag of heroin in your backpack next to your driver’s license and the backpack is in the trunk of your car.
An experienced Pensacola criminal defense attorney is familiar with the defenses to this charge. There are many defenses to possession of heroin under Florida law. One defense theory is often called “multiple occupancies.” If there are multiple people inside a car, the heroine is not in plain view, and nobody tells the cops whom it belongs to, the State will be unable to prove who owns the drugs.
Even if you’re caught red-handed with a bag of heroin in your pocket, there are many other ways to try and keep your record clean. The stop or search may have been illegal. If the judge agrees that the police found the drugs illegally, the State will have to drop the case. Finally, if you have little to no record, you may also be eligible for a diversion program that would end with the dismissal of the charges.