In Florida, drug manufacturing is a complicated offense as it is not governed by its own law. Rather, drug manufacturing is lumped in with offenses like drug possession with intent to sell and drug trafficking – which are governed by two completely different statutes. The confusing nature of a Duval County drug manufacturing offense makes it an ill-advised decision to defend against the charges alone. A knowledgeable criminal defense attorney serving the greater Jacksonville area can handle all of these complications with practiced dexterity while fighting to protect your rights and your future.
Drug manufacturing is, for the most part, a felony offense. In Florida, felonies not only impose harsh prison sentences and hefty fines, but also affect almost every area of your life through other required sanctions for felons. If you have been charged with drug manufacturing in Jacksonville or the surrounding areas of Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fernandina Beach, Callahan, Hilliard, Orange Park, Green Cove Spring, or Middleburg, you don’t have to simply accept a felony conviction, or face the felony charges alone.
Bill Roelke of Roelke Law, P.A. is an experienced Duval County drug crime lawyer with over 20 years of service to clients like you. As a former research scientist, Bill Roelke uses a methodical approach to construct a detailed, customized defense in order to fight for the favorable outcome you desire. For your free consultation on what Roelke Law, P.A. can do for your drug manufacturing case, call (904) 354-0333 today .
When it comes to illegal drug manufacturing, the Florida Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act is very specific concerning what constitutes an offense, and therefore also very complicated. As a legal definition, to manufacture a drug means to directly or indirectly produce, prepare, compound, cultivate, grow, convert, or process a controlled substance through extraction from natural substances, by means of chemical synthesis, or a combination of the two. The term includes any packaging, repackaging, or relabeling of the substance.
The Florida offense of drug manufacturing is governed by two different sections of Chapter 893 of the Florida Statutes: § 893.13 and § 893.135. Statute § 893.13 governs drug manufacturing as a general prohibited offense, and states that it is unlawful for any person to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance or possess such a substance with the intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver it. This governs drug manufacturing in smaller amounts.
Once the offense of drug manufacturing exceeds a specific amount designated for each drug, it becomes a drug trafficking offense under Fla. Stat. § 893.135. Drug trafficking is defined as any person who knowingly sells, purchases, manufactures, delivers, or brings into the state a specified amount of the drug or more. Since the amount is what constitutes the trafficking offense, drug manufacturing and drug trafficking in Florida are the same offense under this statute. No matter which law you face drug trafficking charges under in Duval County or the surrounding areas, it is strongly advised you seek the counsel of an experienced Jacksonville drug crime defense lawyer to defend your future.
A charge for drug manufacturing under Fla. Stat. § 893.13 is generally less likely than a drug selling, delivery, or possession with intent to sell or deliver offense under the same law, but not impossible. All drug manufacturing offenses under this statute are felonies. It is important to remember that if the controlled substance is in some sort of mixture, such as in a pill or tablet, the weight of the whole mixture will be counted towards assigning penalties as opposed to just the weight of the controlled substance itself.
The lowest drug manufacturing offense under Fla. Stat. § 893.13 is a third-degree felony, which is punishable by a maximum of five years of state prison and a $5,000 fine. Manufacturing up to one gram of LSD or up to 14 grams of amphetamines is a third-degree felony under this law. A second-degree felony offense in Florida is punishable by a maximum of 15 years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, and includes the following:
This list of third-degree and second-degree felony manufacturing charges is only a sampling. Fla. Stat. § 893.13 lays out which offense the manufacture of each of the drugs in the Florida drug schedule constitutes. If you are concerned whether your Jacksonville-area drug manufacturing charge or related drug charge qualifies under Section § 893.13, consult with an experienced Duval County drug lawyer.
Once the amount of the drug involved in the drug manufacturing offense exceeds the minimum limits set forth for specific drugs in Fla. Stat. § 893.135, it becomes a drug trafficking offense. A drug manufacturing offense pursued under Florida drug trafficking law is a much more serious offense, involving mandatory minimum sentences that must be served to term in prison, on probation, or with a combination. The only exception is if the offender provides substantial assistance in the arrest of an accomplice or other offender related to his or her case, which would then qualify the defendant for reduced or suspended sentencing.
Illegal drug manufacturing as a Florida drug trafficking offense is a first-degree felony, with penalties that increase with the amount of the substance involved in the case. Conspiracy to commit a drug manufacturing offense that qualifies as drug trafficking comes with the same penalties as the originaloffense. If the drug manufacturing offense involved large quantities of the drug, and/or was the direct or indirect cause of the death of another – it becomes a capital offense punishable by life in prison without parole or, in some cases, the death penalty. Typically, though, a drug manufacturing via drug trafficking defendant faces the following mandatory minimum sentences according to which drug was manufactured and how much:
3 year prison mandatory minimum – $50,000 fine
7 year prison mandatory minimum – $100,000 fine
15 year prison mandatory minimum – $250,000 fine
25 year prison mandatory minimum – $500,000 fine
A comprehensive list of controlled substances with specific trafficking amounts as well as aggravating circumstances can be found by examining Fla. Stat. § 893.135. Or, find out if your Duval County drug manufacturing case is a drug trafficking charge by consulting with a qualified drug defense attorney in the Jacksonville area .
If you have been arrested and charged with drug manufacturing or any other drug possession or drug trafficking offense in Duval County, St. Johns County, Nassau County, or Clay County, contact Bill Roelke of Roelke Law, P.A. to fight for you. Your first consultation is free, so call (904) 354-0333 today to schedule yours.
