Possession With Intent To “Sell, Manufacture, Or Deliver”

Florida has a long history of drug crime, with its history as a hotbed of smuggling from the Prohibition era onwards. Because of this, any drug-related crime is taken very seriously by law enforcement. Those charged with simple possession (that is, possession of drugs for one’s own use) will generally face less serious charges than those charged with possession with intent to sell – after all, law enforcement always wants to curb the spread of illegal drugs.

Three Criteria To Make A Case

The relevant Florida statute makes it a crime to “sell, manufacture, or deliver” a controlled substance, or possess drugs with the intent of performing any of those actions. The offense can be charged as either a third or second-degree felony, depending on the substance in question and the amount involved. This can be the difference between 5 and 15 years in jail, if convicted.

Florida law holds that in order to establish a case for possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver, a state’s attorney must establish three criteria. They are:

• The defendant possessed a substance that they intended to ‘sell, manufacture, or deliver;’
• The substance was controlled, according to the relevant law; and
• The defendant had knowledge of the substance.

Be Aware Of The Details

It is important to be aware that in many of these cases, law enforcement will lack any tangible evidence of possession with intent to sell; rather, it is tacked onto many cases to attempt to push a defendant toward a harsher plea agreement. Nonetheless, certain types of evidence, such as large amounts of money, drug paraphernalia like syringes or baggies, or the sheer amount of the substance in question, may be used persuasively by the state’s attorney to try and establish intent.

There are defenses to this charge, with most of them based in arguing the facts of your case. In some cases, you can simply argue that you had no intent to sell – but depending on the amount in question, this may be irrelevant, as Florida law automatically ascribes intent to someone who is stopped with more than a certain amount of any drug – for example, possession of more than 10 grams of MDMA (ecstasy) is prosecuted as a trafficking offense.

Contact A West Palm Beach Drug Offenses Attorney

A charge of possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver drugs is an extremely serious one. You need experienced legal representation to guide you through the process – a West Palm Beach drug crimes attorney from the firm of Perlet & Shiner, P.A. Is ready and willing to try and assist. Call our office today to speak to an attorney.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0800-0899/0893/Sections/0893.13.html