Serious Drug Charges Demand Immediate Action.

Florida Drug Trafficking Is Not Limited to a Sale

Florida’s trafficking statute does not require proof of a completed street sale in every case. Depending on the substance and statutory subsection, trafficking may be alleged through knowing sale, purchase, manufacture, delivery, bringing a substance into Florida, or actual or constructive possession of a threshold quantity.

The case may therefore turn on identity and weight, where the substance was found, who knew it was present, who could control it, communications among several people, surveillance, an informant’s account, and whether the evidence connects the accused to the alleged conduct.

Possession, Intent, and Trafficking Are Different Allegations

Florida law separately addresses possession, possession with intent to sell or deliver, sale, manufacture, delivery, and trafficking. The substance, quantity, alleged conduct, location, prior history, and other facts affect the charge and potential consequences.

Trafficking thresholds vary by substance. Current examples begin at 28 grams of cocaine, 14 grams of amphetamine or methamphetamine, more than 25 pounds of cannabis or 300 plants, and 4 grams under certain opioid and fentanyl provisions. The laboratory result, chemical identity, mixture or net weight, statutory subsection, and offense date must be matched before exposure can be evaluated reliably.

What Is Constructive Possession?

Constructive-possession allegations commonly arise when drugs are found in a shared vehicle, residence, room, package, storage area, or other location rather than on a person.

Presence near a controlled substance does not automatically establish knowing control. The review may examine access, ownership, keys, fingerprints, DNA, personal items, statements, messages, surveillance, location data, who occupied the space, and whether more than one person could reach or control the area.

The precise jury instructions and available defenses must be evaluated against the charge and evidence, not reduced to a slogan.

Evidence We Examine in Serious Drug Cases

• The reason for the stop, detention, search, or arrest

• Search-warrant affidavits, probable cause, scope, execution, and return

• Home, vehicle, hotel, package, account, and phone searches

• Laboratory testing, chemical identity, packaging, mixture, and weight

• Actual or constructive possession and evidence of knowledge or control

• Informants, controlled buys, surveillance, recordings, and location data

• Phone extractions, messages, financial records, and account attribution

• Chain of custody, conspiracy theories, and multi-defendant attribution

The task is to test the legal basis, evidence actually obtained, and the State’s connection between that evidence and the accused.

Informants, Recorded Evidence, and Investigative Experience

Informant evidence should be examined in context: the person’s role, instructions, compensation or expected benefit, reliability, searches before and after an operation, surveillance coverage, recordings, gaps in observation, and consistency with independent evidence.

Attorney Dan Hassinger has practiced law for 15 years and previously served 15 years in law enforcement, including several years as an undercover detective. His work included drug and other covert investigations involving confidential informants, surveillance, court-authorized interception of communications, recorded evidence, and evidence development.

That background informs review of how an operation was planned, what was recorded, how evidence was handled, and whether the government’s theory accurately assigns knowledge and conduct.

Protect the Evidence and Your Position

• Do not consent to an interview or explain another person’s conduct without legal advice.

• Do not destroy, delete, alter, conceal, transfer, or ask anyone to move evidence.

• Preserve warrants, property receipts, court papers, messages, video, location data, receipts, prescriptions, and witness information.

• Follow every release, travel, contact, testing, firearm, and court-appearance condition.

What Happens After You Call

1. We obtain the basic names, charge, county, custody status, and court date and complete a conflicts check.

2. Dan reviews the charging document, alleged substance and weight, search or arrest information, release conditions, and deadlines.

3. You receive a clear explanation of known risks, missing information, and next steps.

4. If representation begins, the scope and fee are confirmed in writing.

Drug Trafficking FAQs

Can Florida charge trafficking when no sale occurred?

Yes. Section 893.135 includes several forms of conduct, including knowing actual or constructive possession of a threshold amount. Whether the State can prove the charged conduct, substance, weight, knowledge, control, and attribution remains case-specific.

What is the difference between possession with intent and trafficking?

Possession with intent focuses on possession plus an alleged intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver. Trafficking generally turns on specified conduct involving a statutory quantity. The exact substance, amount, subsection, and evidence control the analysis.

Does the entire mixture count toward the trafficking weight?

Many portions of the statute address a substance or mixture containing it, but the language varies by drug. The laboratory analysis, composition, subsection, packaging, and weighing method should be reviewed before accepting the alleged threshold.

Is being near drugs enough to prove constructive possession?

Not automatically. Constructive possession generally requires evidence connecting the person to knowledge and control. Shared spaces require close review of access, dominion, personal items, statements, forensic evidence, messages, and the conduct of other occupants.

Can evidence from a vehicle, home, package, or phone search be challenged?

Potentially. The defense may examine the basis for the stop or warrant, probable cause, consent, particularity, scope, execution, and connection to the accused. The available challenge and remedy depend on the facts and current law.

How do confidential informants affect a drug case?

Their reliability, incentives, instructions, corroboration, recordings, handling of evidence, and consistency with independent facts may all require examination.

Request a Confidential Drug-Case Review

Call (941) 313-2559 or send a brief message using the form below. Please do not include confidential information before a conflicts check.