Drug crimes

Drug Trafficking Defense in Miami

Most people hear "trafficking" and picture someone caught moving drugs to sell them. In Florida, that is not what the word means.

In Florida, trafficking can be nothing more than possession of a quantity at or above the weight the statute sets (for cannabis, more than 25 pounds). No sale has to be proven. No transport has to be proven. No intent to distribute has to be proven. If the State says you knowingly possessed enough of a listed drug, it can charge trafficking, and trafficking carries mandatory minimum prison terms and fines.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. He knows how these cases are charged, because he used to sit on the other side. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

What the Statute Actually Says

Florida's trafficking law is section 893.135 of the Florida Statutes. For each drug, it covers a person who:

> "knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into this state, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of"

the listed amount. Those are separate ways to commit the same crime. Selling is one. Buying is another. Possession is another, standing on its own. That is why a person who never sold anything, and never planned to, can still be charged as a trafficker.

Weight Is Everything

Trafficking is a first-degree felony. The mandatory minimum depends on the drug and the weight. The table below follows the statute. "Mandatory minimum" means the minimum prison term the statute requires.

Drug (as the statute names it)	Weight	Mandatory minimum	Fine
Cannabis	more than 25 lb but less than 2,000 lb, or 300 to 2,000 plants	3 years	$25,000
	2,000 lb but less than 10,000 lb, or 2,000 to 10,000 plants	7 years	$50,000
	10,000 lb or more, or 10,000 or more plants	15 years	$200,000
Cocaine (or any mixture containing it)	28 g but less than 200 g	3 years	$50,000
	200 g but less than 400 g	7 years	$100,000
	400 g but less than 150 kg	15 years	$250,000
Morphine, opium, hydromorphone, heroin ("trafficking in illegal drugs")	4 g but less than 14 g	3 years	$50,000
	14 g but less than 28 g	15 years	$100,000
	28 g but less than 30 kg	25 years	$500,000
Hydrocodone or codeine	28 g but less than 50 g	3 years	$50,000
	50 g but less than 100 g	7 years	$100,000
	100 g but less than 300 g	15 years	$500,000
	300 g but less than 30 kg	25 years	$750,000
Oxycodone	7 g but less than 14 g	3 years	$50,000
	14 g but less than 25 g	7 years	$100,000
	25 g but less than 100 g	15 years	$500,000
	100 g but less than 30 kg	25 years	$750,000
Fentanyl, alfentanil, carfentanil, sufentanil, fentanyl derivatives and analogs	4 g but less than 14 g	7 years	$50,000
	14 g but less than 28 g	20 years	$100,000
	28 g or more	25 years	$500,000
Xylazine (offenses on or after October 1, 2026)	28 g but less than 100 g	3 years	$50,000
	100 g but less than 200 g	7 years	$100,000
	200 g or more	25 years	$500,000
Amphetamine or methamphetamine	14 g but less than 28 g	3 years	$50,000
	28 g but less than 200 g	7 years	$100,000
	200 g or more	15 years	$250,000
Phencyclidine (PCP) and related listed substances	28 g but less than 200 g	3 years	$50,000
	200 g but less than 400 g	7 years	$100,000
	400 g or more	15 years	$250,000
Phenethylamines (listed substances, substituted cathinones, substituted phenethylamines)	10 g but less than 200 g	3 years	$50,000
	200 g but less than 400 g	7 years	$100,000
	400 g or more	15 years	$250,000
N-benzyl phenethylamines	14 g but less than 100 g	3 years	$50,000
	100 g but less than 200 g	7 years	$100,000
	200 g or more	15 years	$500,000
LSD	1 g but less than 5 g	3 years	$50,000
	5 g but less than 7 g	7 years	$100,000
	7 g or more	15 years	$500,000
Synthetic cannabinoids	280 g but less than 500 g	3 years	$50,000
	500 g but less than 1,000 g	7 years	$100,000
	1,000 g but less than 30 kg	15 years	$200,000
	30 kg or more	25 years	$750,000
Flunitrazepam	4 g but less than 14 g	3 years	$50,000
	14 g but less than 28 g	7 years	$100,000
	28 g but less than 30 kg	25 years	$500,000
GHB	1 kg but less than 5 kg	3 years	$50,000
	5 kg but less than 10 kg	7 years	$100,000
	10 kg or more	15 years	$250,000
GBL	1 kg but less than 5 kg	3 years	$50,000
	5 kg but less than 10 kg	7 years	$100,000
	10 kg or more	15 years	$250,000
1,4-Butanediol	1 kg but less than 5 kg	3 years	$50,000
	5 kg but less than 10 kg	7 years	$100,000
	10 kg or more	15 years	$500,000
Methaqualone	200 g but less than 5 kg	3 years	$50,000
	5 kg but less than 25 kg	7 years	$100,000
	25 kg or more	15 years	$250,000

At the very top of the scale, the statute goes further. Cocaine at 150 kilograms or more, flunitrazepam at 30 kilograms or more, and the opioid group (morphine, opium, oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, hydromorphone, heroin) at 30 kilograms or more are punished by life imprisonment. The statute also creates capital offenses for certain large importation and manufacturing cases.

Fentanyl to a minor. An adult who knowingly sells or delivers at least 4 grams of fentanyl or a listed fentanyl-type substance to a minor, in a form that looks like candy, food, cereal, a vitamin, or a branded product, or that carries a cartoon imprint, faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years up to life and a $1 million fine. See Fentanyl Charges.

The Mixture Rule: Why the Number on the Scale Can Be So High

The weight is not just the pure drug. The statute says:

> "the weight of the controlled substance is the total weight of the mixture, including the controlled substance and any other substance in the mixture."

A "mixture" includes "a solution or a dosage unit, including but not limited to, a gelatin capsule, pill, or tablet, containing a controlled substance." Florida's definitions section describes a mixture as "any physical combination of two or more substances, including, but not limited to, a blend, an aggregation, a suspension, an emulsion, a solution, or a dosage unit, whether or not such combination can be separated into its components by physical means, whether mechanical or thermal."

And if there is more than one bag or batch: "If there is more than one mixture containing the same controlled substance, the weight of the controlled substance is calculated by aggregating the total weight of each mixture."

What this means in real life:

Pills are weighed whole. A handful of pills can cross a trafficking line even if the drug inside is a tiny fraction of each pill.
Cutting agents count. Whatever the drug is mixed with counts toward the weight.
Separate bags can be added together, but only when they contain the same controlled substance.

That is why we look hard at the lab work: what was actually tested, whether every bag was tested or only some, whether packaging was weighed, and whether the numbers add up.

Constructive Possession and Knowledge

Because possession alone can be trafficking, most trafficking defenses start with possession.

Actual possession means the drugs were on you. Constructive possession is what the State argues when the drugs were near you: in a car, a room, a closet, a storage unit. When a car or home is shared, the State generally has to prove more than that you were close by. It has to show you knew the drugs were there and had control over them. Being the passenger, the roommate, or the person who borrowed the car is not enough on its own.

The statute also requires that the person act "knowingly." It defines that broadly. A person acts knowingly if he or she intends to possess (or sell, buy, and so on) any of the listed controlled substances, "regardless of which controlled substance listed in subsection (1) is in fact sold, purchased, manufactured, delivered, or brought into this state, or actually or constructively possessed." In plain terms: if the State proves you knowingly had one listed drug, it does not matter that the lab says it was a different listed drug.

Florida law also says that knowing the illicit nature of a substance is not an element the State must prove. Under section 893.101, lack of that knowledge is an affirmative defense instead. That defense has its own rules, and whether it fits depends on the facts.

What Comes With a Trafficking Conviction

No withhold of adjudication. For a trafficking violation, "adjudication of guilt or imposition of sentence shall not be suspended, deferred, or withheld."
No early release before the minimum. A person sentenced to a mandatory minimum is not eligible for discretionary early release before serving it, except pardon or executive clemency or conditional medical release.
Conspiracy counts the same. Agreeing with someone else to commit a trafficking act is a first-degree felony, "punishable as if he or she had actually committed such prohibited act."

Substantial Assistance (Section 893.135(4))

The statute has one built-in way around the mandatory minimum. Here is what it says:

> "The state attorney may move the sentencing court to reduce or suspend the sentence of any person who is convicted of a violation of this section and who provides substantial assistance in the identification, arrest, or conviction of any of that person’s accomplices, accessories, coconspirators, or principals or of any other person engaged in trafficking in controlled substances."

The arresting agency gets a chance to be heard. "Upon good cause shown, the motion may be filed and heard in camera." And "The judge hearing the motion may reduce or suspend the sentence if the judge finds that the defendant rendered such substantial assistance."

Notice who holds the key: the state attorney files the motion. Cooperation is a serious decision with real risks. It is never something to try on your own, and never something to discuss with police before you have a lawyer.

How We Defend Trafficking Cases

The search. Many trafficking cases begin with a car stop, a home search, or a package. If the search was illegal, the evidence can be thrown out. See Motions to Suppress.
Possession and knowledge. Who else had access? Whose name is on the lease or the registration? Whose fingerprints or DNA, if any?
The weight. Lab testing, what was weighed, and whether separate items were properly combined.
The identity of the substance. The State must prove what the substance is. Field tests are not lab tests.
The charge level. Even a few grams can be the difference between minimums. Getting the weight below a line changes everything.

Bond, Nebbia Holds, and Immigration

Trafficking arrests often come with high bonds and a Nebbia (source-of-funds) hold. See Bond & Nebbia Hearings.

For non-citizens, a trafficking charge carries serious immigration risk. We weigh it before any plea. See Immigration Consequences of Criminal Charges.

What to Do After a Trafficking Arrest

Don't answer questions without a lawyer, and don't agree to "help" before you have one.
Don't consent to searches of your phone, car, or home.
Don't talk about the case on jail phones. Calls are recorded.
Write down who else used the car, room, or home, and when.
Call us for bond, Nebbia planning, and a review of the search and the weight.

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
Defending people since 2012 in state and federal court.
Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
Bilingual office — se habla español.
We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

Frequently Asked Questions

I never sold anything. How can I be charged with trafficking?

Because in Florida, possession of enough of a listed drug is itself one of the ways to commit trafficking. The statute does not require a sale.

Do they weigh the pure drug or the whole thing?

The whole mixture, including whatever the drug is mixed with. With pills, the whole pill counts.

Can the judge give me less than the minimum?

The statute requires the minimum. The main exception written into the trafficking statute is a reduction for substantial assistance, which starts with a motion by the state attorney.

The drugs were in a shared car. Am I automatically responsible?

No. The State has to prove you knew about the drugs and had control over them. Being nearby is not enough on its own.

Can a trafficking case be beaten?

Some can, often on the search, possession, or weight. Every case is different, and no lawyer can promise a result. We start by reviewing how the evidence was found.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

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