Trafficking

The most serious of the drug crimes are the trafficking crimes. Trafficking any type of drug in Florida means there is a ‘minimum mandatory’ prison sentence. In English, what this means is that if you are convicted or plead guilty to a trafficking charge, you are definitely going to prison. Depending on the drug and the amount, this minimum mandatory term could be 3 years, 7 years, 15 years, or 25 years. In Florida, it takes a relatively large amount of amount of cannabis (pot) or cocaine to be charged with trafficking. For cannabis, trafficking means having over 25 pounds; and for cocaine, it means having more than 28 grams. The quirk in the law is with prescription drugs. In most cases with “pills” (i.e. ecstacy, oxycontin, hydrocodone, vicodin, etc.) only 4 grams constitutes trafficking; therefore we see many cases where somebody is caught possessing an average amount of ‘pills’, and they get charged with trafficking.

The biggest misconception about trafficking drugs is that most clients think that in order to be charged with trafficking, you have to be selling it. THIS IS NOT TRUE. In Florida, trafficking is defined as selling, manufacturing, delivering, purchasing, OR simply possessing the drug.

We have handled many trafficking cases and frequently the best thing an attorney can do for you is to negotiate that the charge be reduced from trafficking to either sale or possession to save the client from going to prison.