Sale or Delivery of Drugs in Tampa
Selling or Delivering Drugs and Trafficking
Drug trafficking is not restricted to kilo quantities of cocaine or
marijuana smuggled in airplanes or boats and distributed throughout the State. Selling (or even possessing) relatively small quantities of a controlled substance can result in a trafficking charge with some some very severe penalties. Consider, for example, the penalties for drug offenses concerning the prescription drug Oxycodone:
- Just FOUR GRAMS of Oxycodone pills carries a three year minimum sentence and a fifty thousand dollar fine. To put this in perspective, know that there are four hundred and fifty four grams in a pound. Less than a handful of pills can result in a mandatory three year prison sentence.
- TWENTY EIGHT GRAMS or more will result in a mandatory twenty five year sentence and a half million dollar fine.
Other prescription drugs that carry a mandatory prison sentence and severe fine amounts for selling or possessing relatively small quantities include morphine, opium, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone. If you have been arrested for selling or delivering controlled substances, or think you might be, early intervention by an experienced Tampa drug crime defense attorney is critical. Attorney Timothy Hessinger is very familiar with these types of cases from years spent prosecuting them, while working for the State Attorney's Office, and in defending them as well. Experienced representation may result in your charges being amended to avoid a mandatory prison sentence, or under certain circumstances, dropped altogether.
Mandatory Minimum Sentences
It is important to understand that the State laws require mandatory minimum sentences for trafficking offenses involving drugs such marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other controlled substances. These can range from three to twenty five years in prison and the fines can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The same is true for drug trafficking that involves the sale or distribution of prescription drugs. As indicated above, these sentences can be applicable even where the drugs were never actually sold, but simply possessed.
The discretion to amend these charges lies with the State Attorney exclusively. In other words, the judge presiding over your case has no discretion to amend your charge or impose anything less than the minimum mandatory sentences. Unless you elect to go to trial and are found not guilty by a jury, any relief from these minimum mandatory sentences must be attained through negotiations with the prosecutor.
Get help from an experienced legal team and contact a Tampa drug sales attorney
as soon as possible.