Drug offenses can be quite serious, especially when there is a large quantity of drugs involved. Being convicted of a drug crime can have serious consequences. According to Florida statute 893.135(1)(f), the sale, purchase, manufacture, delivery, or knowledgeable possession of more than 200 or more grams of meth is a 1st degree felony. The possible penalties include a 15-year...
Continue ReadingEarlier this month, a former employee of a Florida crime lab was taken into custody. He was then formally charged with switching drug evidence held within the lab for over-the-counter medications and selling the stolen drug evidence. In all, the man is charged with nine separate counts of drug trafficking, 12 counts of evidence tampering and grand theft. While...
Continue ReadingNever before has the Justice Department approached an issue involving unfair sentencing within the American justice system quite like this. Certainly, presidents have granted clemency to individuals before in low numbers. However, the Justice Department recently encouraged both criminal defense attorneys and low-level offenders convicted of certain federal drug crimes to submit clemency applications en masse. Specifically, the Justice...
Continue ReadingToday the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the ballot initiative that would allow the citizens of Florida to decide if marijuana should be legal for medical purposes. In an opinion today, January 27, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the language in the bill is permissible. Specifically, the Court ruled that the amendment did not violate the single subject...
Continue ReadingLast month, the president used his executive powers to commute the sentences of individuals convicted of federal offenses related to crack cocaine. Each of the eight inmates whose sentences were commuted had been sentenced to life imprisonment and had served a minimum of 15 years imprisonment so far. This gesture was both concrete and serves as a symbolic step...
Continue ReadingA new method of smoking marijuana concentrates is starting to become much more popular across the country. It’s called a dab of butane honey oil or BHO dabs (also known as “wax” or shatter”). The widespread growth is probably attributed to the increased legalization of marijuana in several states. Even though the butane extraction of marijuana has been around...
Continue ReadingFour individuals have recently been arrested under suspicion of making illegal drugs. Florida police suspect that the accused persons manufactured methamphetamine out of a camper trailer in the Pine Lakes area near Eustis. Each person was arrested after a search of the trailer, and each faces charges of conspiracy to manufacture meth. According to the report, police received an...
Continue ReadingWe have previously discussed that one of the primary aims of the American criminal justice system is to hold criminal offenders appropriately accountable for their actions. Tragically, decades of mandatory minimum sentencing laws and other “tough on crime” approaches have produced punishments that are often grossly disproportionate to the criminal wrongdoing of low-level convicted offenders. A large number of...
Continue ReadingDrug charges can result in very serious consequences for individuals in Florida. Drug convictions can mean serving time in prison as well as living with the stigma of having a drug conviction on your criminal record for the rest of your life. A recent drug case in Florida is an example of the serious consequences individuals can face if...
Continue ReadingAn article in Forbes by Jacob Sullum examined the economics of the war on drugs. I have read plenty of articles which looked at the amount of money that the United States has expended in the war on drugs including law enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration. However this is the first article that I have seen which looks at this from...
Continue Reading