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Top Cannabis Trafficking Defense Attorney Jason Cromey, Esq. on:
Trafficking in Cannabis: F.S. 893.135
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Trafficking in Cannabis – Section 893.135, Florida Statutes, lays out three elements that the State has to prove if they charge you with trafficking in marijuana (cannabis):
- That you knowingly possessed, sold, purchased, manufactured, delivered, or brought into Florida a certain substance;
- The substance was cannabis; and
- The cannabis weighed over 25 pounds or constituted 300 or more cannabis plants.
Notice that the definition of trafficking includes simple possession. Just being in possession of the required amount, without anything more, constitutes drug trafficking. The charge of trafficking in cannabis carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence, which increases based on how much you got caught with:
- 25-2000 lbs. or 300-2000 plants = 3 years in state prison and a $25,000.00 fine
- 2000-10,000 lbs or 2000-10,000 plants = 7 years in state prison and a $50,000 fine
- 10,000+ lbs or 10,000+ plants = 15 years state prison and a $200,000 fine
These punishments are very, very serious, which is all the reason you should need to reach a qualified and experienced criminal defense attorney who can help attack these charges. Often, these cases result from undercover operations involving the complicated and intricate law relating to search warrants.
The right lawyer should be familiar with these concepts and uncover any possible mistake by the police in the hopes of getting the case thrown out of court. The right lawyer can also work at getting the charges reduced to avoid the serious minimum mandatory sentences that trafficking carries.