If the Orlando Police Department arrests you for a cocaine crime, you are facing severe penalties under the Florida Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. This is due in part because cocaine is a controlled substance, which means it is illicit and can be highly abused and addictive. The government ranks these drugs from Schedule I, the most dangerous, with no credible medical use, to Schedule V, with some viable medical uses and less likely to be abused. Cocaine is ranked as Schedule II.
Penalties matter depending on whether you are found with cocaine for your own use, you intend to sell it, or you are trafficking it. All are felonies. You have a right to defend yourself with the help of a skilled drug attorney. To understand what you are up against, you should understand the penalties for cocaine in Orlando.
Florida Statutes § 893.13 sets out the charges and penalties for drug possession. Innuendoes in the law can ratchet a possession charge up to an intent to sell charge just by getting caught within 1,000 feet from a school, or public park if you possess enough cocaine, even if you never intended to sell it.
A charge of possessing less than 28 grams of cocaine is a third-degree felony penalized by up to five years in Raiford or another state prison, fines as much as $5,000, up to a two-year suspension of your driver’s license, probation, community service, and a possible stay in a drug treatment facility.
Prosecutors often charge possession of illicit drugs with intent to distribute if they find you with a larger amount of cocaine in your possession than is reasonably ingested by one person. Law enforcement also looks for evidence supporting this charge, including the large amount of cash found on you, packaging materials (such as baggies and labels) found in your residence, and a potential client list.
Many factors determine if the intent to distribute is charged as a third-, second-, or first-degree felony. If the charges mount to trafficking in cocaine, you face a first-degree felony when at least 28 grams are involved. This will lead to the most draconian punishments for cocaine in Orlando.
The Controlled Substance Act (CSA) defines the five drug schedules, with Schedule II cocaine widely trafficked in the U.S. Trafficking in Florida is generally intentionally manufacturing or transporting, either importing or exporting, of illicit substances, and if the minimum amount of drugs is met, a charge of intent to distribute can be raised to trafficking.
You can also be charged if you possess the cocaine and have the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver but are arrested during the planning stages. Penalties for trafficking cocaine include:
You can appreciate the gravity of penalties associated with cocaine possession and trafficking in Orlando. To mitigate the damage, you will need a competent criminal defense lawyer to negotiate the least invasive sentence or present an airtight defense to exonerate you.
If you become mired in the criminal justice system because you are found with cocaine, paraphernalia to package and transport it, or a wad of cash, you need decisive action by a dedicated attorney to save you from the harshest penalties.
There are other penalties to drug charges, too. Your family may experience public embarrassment, you may lose a job, have trouble getting a loan or suitable housing, and you will lose your right to vote and own a firearm if you are convicted of a felony. Fight back now by contacting a lawyer to mitigate the penalties for cocaine in Orlando.
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
