Florida takes drug offenses seriously, which means you could face significant consequences and penalties if convicted. It’s important to understand the most common defenses to these charges.
The drug isn’t a controlled substance
If the drug you were found to be in possession of was not a controlled substance, the charges against you may be invalid. Your defense might be strong if the reason behind your arrest was that the police believed that you had one particular type of drug in your possession when it was something benign.
Illegal search and seizure
Police cannot stop you or search your vehicle or home without having a legitimate reason to do so. If the arresting officer didn’t have your explicit permission to conduct a search, they were violating your rights against an illegal search and seizure. This would result in the case against you being thrown out of court.
The drugs are not yours
Sometimes, illicit drugs might be in a person’s home or vehicle without their knowledge or consent. If someone else planted drugs in a place that you own or live in and you had no idea and then you are charged with possession of drugs, you could argue that the drugs are not yours and that they belong to someone else. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you knowingly possessed the substance. If you had no idea about the drugs, the charges could be dropped.
Entrapment
Entrapment occurs when a police officer makes threats against someone to force them into buying or selling drugs to them. If this happens to you, you might feel intimidated enough to give in. Entrapment could be a strong defense to felony drug charges.
Drug charges can adversely affect your life, but a strong defense might work in your favor.
