Drug Offenses

In Smith v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2172b (Fla. 2nd DCA 2013), Smith sought review of his judgment and sentence for possession of a controlled substance (oxycodone) and possession of paraphernalia. Smith argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion for...

Defendant was convicted in the Circuit Court of trafficking in cocaine in amount more than 200 grams, but less than 400 grams. The District Court of Appeal, affirmed. The Florida Supreme Court in Greenwade v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly S717a (Fla. 2013) held that...

In a federal drug case, United States v. Cortes, No. 12-50137 (9th Cir. Oct. 9, 2013), the Ninth Circuit reversed a conviction for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, finding an error with the judge's instruction to the...

The mildly stimulant leaves of an east African plant called khat was the subject of a 2009 federal drug trafficking prosecution in Indianapolis, when a U.S. immigrant from Somalia was found distributing it to customers of his coffee shop. Khat, which produces a...

When Rick Scott signed CS/CS/HB 49 -- Florida's new statute criminalizing the sale of bongs, even if not used for drug use -- into law, it hardly made local news here. Two weeks later, however, the national news media appears to have noticed our new felony drug charge...

Clearwater police arrested 29 individuals for alleged drug and gun possession charges. A search warrant was apparently obtained allowing for a SWAT team to raid an undisclosed location just prior to the drug possession arrests taking place. It was claimed that the...

Last year, Florida's Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an Emergency Rule that banned 22 substances used to make synthetic drugs like K2, Spice and bath salts. She intended that rule to get those drugs off the shelves in the stores where they were being sold...

More than half of the Americans who responded to a recent survey supported the legalization of marijuana, believing it should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco. It is clear that attitudes about marijuana are changing throughout the country. For example, two states...

The Florida Attorney General has released an emergency order widening the scope of Florida's laws against synthetic drugs. The order outlaws 22 chemicals found in these drugs, which have been widely available for legal sale in smoke shops, convenience stories and...

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is currently conducting a probe of three Walgreens pharmacies in Florida following allegations that the pharmacies are connected to diversion of prescription drugs for illegal use.The pharmacies were issued orders to show...