Drug trafficking under Fla. Stat. s. 893.135 is a first-degree felony in Florida, and every trafficking weight carries a mandatory minimum prison term that a judge cannot suspend, defer or withhold. That is why these cases are fought on the elements rather than at sentencing. The state has to prove you knew the substance was there, that it was in your actual or constructive possession, and that it weighed at least the trafficking amount. This page sets out the weights that trigger a charge, the mandatory minimum attached to each one, and the points where these cases most often fall apart.
If you are wondering how to beat a drug trafficking charge in the state of Florida and have recently been arrested for the crime, contact the team at Weinstein Legal Team today. Head of the criminal defense division and partner Matt Shafran is a Florida criminal defense attorney and a former prosecutor, so he has seen from the inside how the state decides to charge a case as trafficking rather than possession. For a free case evaluation with no obligation, contact Weinstein Legal Team and ask for Matt Shafran. Call 954-845-0505 any time, day or night, to speak with a member of our team.
What Amount of Drugs is Considered Trafficking in Florida?
The defense starts with what the charge of "drug trafficking" means in the state of Florida, as well as the specifics of the legislation. For example, there is a difference between the criminal offense of drug possession and drug trafficking, but what is the difference, and which one applies to your case?
The state makes a differentiation between the two charges in several ways, one of which is the amount of a specific drug found on your person or in your control at the time of your arrest. The trafficking statute is Fla. Stat. s. 893.135, and weight is what separates it from simple possession under s. 893.13.
The definition of "drug trafficking" in Florida, according to the state legislature, is: Any person who knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of a controlled substance over a certain weight/amount or under certain circumstances.
The amount of a drug for which trafficking charges are applicable varies depending on the substance. Drug trafficking charges may be suitable for the following weights and amounts of common drugs:
- Cannabis, s. 893.135(1)(a): in excess of 25 pounds, or 300 or more plants showing observable root formation. The lowest band carries a 3 year mandatory minimum and a $25,000 fine, rising to 15 years and $200,000 at 10,000 pounds.
- Cocaine, s. 893.135(1)(b): 28 grams or more, counting any mixture containing cocaine. That is 3 years and $50,000 at 28 grams, 7 years and $100,000 at 200 grams, and 15 years and $250,000 at 400 grams.
- Morphine, opium, hydromorphone or heroin, s. 893.135(1)(c)1.: 4 grams or more, including salts, derivatives and isomers. The minimum jumps hard here, from 3 years at 4 grams to 15 years at 14 grams and 25 years at 28 grams.
- Hydrocodone or codeine, s. 893.135(1)(c)2.: 28 grams or more. The 28 gram figure has been the law since s. 6, ch. 2016-105 raised it; older articles still say 14. Minimums run 3 years at 28 grams to 25 years at 300 grams.
- Oxycodone, s. 893.135(1)(c)3.: 7 grams or more, with minimums of 3 years at 7 grams, 7 years at 14 grams, 15 years at 25 grams and 25 years at 100 grams.
- Fentanyl, alfentanil, carfentanil, sufentanil, a fentanyl derivative, an analog of any of them, or any mixture containing one, s. 893.135(1)(c)4.: 4 grams or more. The mandatory minimum at the lowest band is 7 years, not 3, under s. 893.135(1)(c)4.b.(I), then 20 years at 14 grams and 25 years at 28 grams.
- Amphetamine or methamphetamine, s. 893.135(1)(f): 14 grams or more, with 3 years at 14 grams, 7 years at 28 grams and 15 years at 200 grams.
- GHB, GBL or 1,4-Butanediol, s. 893.135(1)(h), (i) and (j): 1 kilogram or more, with 3 years at 1 kilogram, 7 years at 5 kilograms and 15 years at 10 kilograms.
- LSD, s. 893.135(1)(l): 1 gram or more, with 3 years at 1 gram, 7 years at 5 grams and 15 years at 7 grams.
- Xylazine, s. 893.135(1)(c)7.: trafficking in xylazine at 28 grams or more becomes an offense on October 1, 2026 under ch. 2026-148, with 3 years and a $50,000 fine at 28 grams, 7 years and $100,000 at 100 grams, and 25 years and $500,000 at 200 grams.
That list is not complete. Fla. Stat. s. 893.135 also sets trafficking weights for phencyclidine, methaqualone, flunitrazepam, MDMA and MDA and other substances, and both the mandatory minimum and the fine rise as the weight rises. One rule catches people out more than any other: under s. 893.135(6) the weight counted is the total weight of the mixture, not the weight of the drug inside it, and separate mixtures of the same drug are added together. A heavily cut product is weighed whole.
You are not required to prove your innocence. The burden stays on the state for every element, beyond a reasonable doubt, and a drug crime attorney in Florida earns their keep by attacking those elements: the stop, the search, the chain of custody, the lab analysis, the weight, and whether the state can tie the substance to you at all. Matt Shafran handles these cases at Weinstein Legal Team.
Penalties for Drug Trafficking Charges in Florida
The penalties appointed by a judge will vary on several circumstances surrounding your drug trafficking charges in the state of Florida. The official state legislature does outline minimum sentences based on specific stipulations that are related to your charges. For example, if law enforcement arrests you with a larger quantity of a specific substance you may face a longer prison sentence. Additionally, if a person dies as a result of your drug supply you may face a much longer sentence and possible manslaughter or homicide charges as well.
Other elements of your case that may affect the severity of your penalties will include whether you are a first-time offender or if this is a repeat offense, whether any minors were involved or harmed in the process of the alleged crime, whether any person sustained an injury as a result of your alleged actions, and your past criminal history.
Mandatory minimum prison terms under Fla. Stat. s. 893.135 run 3, 7, 15, 20 and 25 years depending on the substance and the weight, and the largest cocaine and opiate quantities carry life imprisonment. Fines run from $25,000 at the lowest cannabis band to $750,000 at the highest hydrocodone and oxycodone bands, and $1 million where an adult sells at least 4 grams of fentanyl to a minor in packaging that imitates candy or a branded food product under s. 893.135(1)(c)4.c. None of that includes court costs or attorney fees.
A mandatory minimum is not a guideline. Under s. 893.135(3) the court cannot suspend, defer or withhold adjudication or sentence, and you are not eligible for parole or any form of discretionary early release until the minimum has been served. The one statutory way around it is s. 893.135(4): the state attorney, not the judge, may move to reduce or suspend the sentence of a defendant who provides substantial assistance, and the judge may grant that motion if the assistance was in fact substantial.
Additionally, there are many other rights and freedoms that you stand to lose as the result of a conviction. For example, if you are a parent a drug trafficking charge in Florida may pose challenges for your custody agreement, particularly if your children were present for any portion of the alleged crime. A felony conviction also makes it unlawful for you to own or possess a firearm or ammunition under Fla. Stat. s. 790.23, and it suspends your right to vote until you complete every term of your sentence, including probation or parole and any restitution, fines and fees the court ordered, under Art. VI, s. 4 of the Florida Constitution. Being a convicted felon means that the criminal offense will always show up on a background check and you may find it difficult to find housing or employment in the future.
Do not allow any of these things to happen to you. The team at Weinstein Legal Team will evaluate your case and can best advise you on the strategy we will use in regard to how to beat a drug trafficking charge, therefore preserving your freedoms and constitutional rights.
What Is a Confidential Informant?
A confidential informant is a person who provides information to law enforcement regarding another individual or organization in relation to a crime. If you receive drug trafficking charges in the state of Florida and the prosecution notes that they had the help of a confidential informant, you may never find out who this person is. The prosecutor's office is not generally required to reveal a confidential informant's true identity, as many fear that it may put that source in danger.
The informant's identity is often the thing a trafficking case turns on, and there is a standard for getting it. Under Roviaro v. United States, 353 U.S. 53 (1957), the state's privilege to withhold an informant's identity gives way where disclosure is relevant and helpful to the defense or essential to a fair determination of the case. Florida applies that through Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.220(g)(2), which says disclosure is not required unless the informant is to be produced at a hearing or trial, or unless withholding the identity would infringe the defendant's constitutional rights. Motive is usually why it matters: informants working off their own charges, former business partners, ex-partners and former friends all have reasons to shade what they tell police.
In fact, it is possible for a defense team to call a confidential informant as a witness during the court case, and oftentimes that person is able to provide valuable information that sheds light on the tactics of the prosecution. It often comes to light that things may not be as they seem and this can greatly help your defense.
The Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause gives you the right to confront the witnesses who testify against you at trial. On its own it does not force the state to name an informant who never takes the stand, which is exactly why the motion to compel disclosure matters. At Weinstein Legal Team, we work diligently to uncover all of the facts surrounding your case. That is where a defense to a drug trafficking charge comes from.
How to Defend Against Drug Trafficking Charges
The defenses that work in a Florida trafficking case attack an element the state has to prove. The common ones are lack of knowledge that the substance was there, lack of actual or constructive possession, an unlawful stop or search, a challenge to the identity or purity of the substance, and a challenge to the weight, since s. 893.135 turns entirely on weight. Which one fits depends on the facts, and none of them is guaranteed to work.
The most common legal defenses against a drug trafficking charge include proving that you were not the individual in control of the illegal substances, or that you had no knowledge of their presence. To be convicted of drug trafficking charges, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the individual in control of the drugs and that you knew they were there. For example, if another person is riding in your car as a passenger when police stop your vehicle and they are arrested for having a large amount of drugs on their body or in their belongings, if you had no knowledge of the drugs being present it is unlikely that a court can convict you.
Similarly, if you borrow a friend or family member's car to run errands around town and law enforcement pulls you over, searches the vehicle, and finds illegal drugs hidden inside yet you did not know they were there, it may also be challenging to convict you. Other times that it may be more difficult to secure a conviction include drug trafficking charges that result in another person's overdose. It may be challenging for law enforcement to prove that you were the source of the narcotics that led to the individual's death and suspicion alone is not enough to convict a person and send them to jail for many years.
Contact Weinstein Legal Team Today
If you are wondering how to beat a drug charge in the state of Florida and have an upcoming court case for these criminal charges, contact Weinstein Legal Team today and ask for criminal defense attorney Matt Shafran. Mr. Shafran has spent years in Florida criminal courts, first as a prosecutor and then on the defense side. Whether this is a first arrest or you already have a record, the team at Weinstein Legal Team can review the case with you.
No lawyer can promise you a result, and you should be wary of one who does. What a defense team can do is test the state's case at each point where it can fail: the basis for the stop, the validity of the search warrant, the informant, the chain of custody, and the lab analysis and weight. Weinstein Legal Team uses investigators and independent lab review where the facts call for it.
To get started working on your case and to learn how to beat drug charges in the state of Florida, contact Weinstein Legal Team today. You can receive an entirely free case evaluation with absolutely no obligation. We will review the facts surrounding your unique case and provide you with honest answers. Do not wait to start working on your defense. Every day that passes is another day that the prosecutor's office is working to secure your guilt. You deserve the same chance at having an excellent legal defense. Call 954-845-0505 today.
