Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Police arrested a Florida man on felony drug and gun charges after intercepting a UPS package containing a 13 pound package of marijuana.  Gavin George Brown faces charges of possession of cannabis with intent to sell and carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony.  Police intercepted the package and arrested Brown after he picked up the package from an area residence.  Police say that Brown was unaware that the package had been intercepted and called to arrange to pick up the package.  The police were monitoring the transaction unbeknownst to Brown.  When Brown picked up the package of marijuana, the police confronted him.  According police reports, Brown also told police he was carrying a firearm for protection during the drug transaction.

Any person charged with intent to distribute drugs or carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony faces very tough potential punishment.  Florida drug attorney John Musca outlined the severe penalties that may be faced for such charges.  Possession of more that 20 grams of marijuana can result in a felony conviction with a maximum sentence of 5 years and a maximum $5000 fine.  Under Florida drug law, anyone who possesses a firearm during the commission of a felony may face a mandatory sentence of 10 years, which the judge may not suspend or reduce.

Florida drug trafficking charges are very serious and can result in both state and federal charges.  If a person is arrested for drug trafficking, a Florida drug lawyer can help protect one's rights.  The lawyer can investigate the prosecutor's case against you.  Depending on the facts of the case, a Florida drug attorney can also file a motion to have charges dismissed or to have certain evidence excluded if it was obtained illegally.  A qualified Florida criminal lawyer will also be able to explain all of the possible defenses available in your case.  A Florida drug attorney will ultimately help you negotiate the best possible plea-bargain or represent you zealously in trial if the case cannot be resolved prior to trial.

For further information about Florida Criminal Defense Lawyer John Musca visit www.muscalaw.com, where you can review the firm's current case list along with their previous successes and obtain legal information.  Musca Law is a full service Florida criminal defense firm servicing clients throughout the state of Florida.

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As the State of Florida has made clear, drug policies, both in the State of Florida and across the nation have virtually been an absolute failure.  Millions of dollars have been exhausted through law enforcement, prosecutions and judicial excess.

State law now brings formidable penalties for marijuana growers.  The Marijuana Grow House Eradication Act permits prosecutors and law enforcement agents the essential tools to battle those that grow marijuana for profit. With the current law in place any building owned with the intent of cultivating the distribution of marijuana is a third degree felony.  If 25 or more plants are grown it is a second degree felony, a first degree felony when children are present.  Thus, making the penalties for pot growers almost as tough as those charged with the possession of cocaine;  it is a third degree felony for the possession of 28 grams of cocaine, a second degree felony for the sale of cocaine and a first degree felony for cocaine trafficking of 150 kilo grams or more.

Legislator's and law enforcement officials, claim that marijuana grow houses simulate unrelenting liabilities to the community, endanger children and promote environmental hazards, through violence and gun activity. Not including a surge in violent crimes such as burglaries and home invasions.

However the National Drug Intelligence Center, Florida Drug Threat Assessment stated that although marijuana is widely available and frequently used "the level of violence directly attributed to marijuana distribution in Florida is low."  Violence associated with marijuana is mainly used as a deterrent in regards to gaining access to areas of cultivation. 

In central Florida wholesale distribution, midlevel distribution and retail distribution of marijuana alone rated in the Asian/Vietnamese communities only.  Wholesale distribution, midlevel distribution and retail distribution along with other drugs to include cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine were high in all other communities.  The question posed is marijuana a danger as a singular or a danger combined with other more costly drugs.

According to a 2007 analysis done by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission, the rate of deaths by prescription drugs were three times the rate of deaths that were caused by all illicit drugs combined.  989 deaths were caused by cocaine heroin and methamphetamines, prescription drugs Valium and Xanax alone were responsible for 743 deaths, 843 for cocaine and none for marijuana.

Cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines are a direct threat throughout Florida with cocaine being readily available through various criminal groups.  Miami has more emergency department instances affiliated with cocaine abuse than any other illicit drug.  Violent crimes are customarily associated with cocaine, specifically in low income inner city communities.  Dealers in an attempt to protect their domain often commit violent crimes from assault to homicide.  They form criminal gangs that deal cocaine while often engaging in drive by shootings and home invasions.

We are all too aware that we should not tolerate drugs however we should care about the substantial public finances and judicial resources that simply do not work.   Not to mention that Florida already has the third largest prison population in the Nation primarily due to mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws.  There are pro's and con's to mandatory sentencing.  Mandatory sentencing is a way to deter drug related crimes by extending the time that the person convicted is incarcerated.  Opposition to mandatory sentencing would be that the judicial process is under restraint not allowing for latitude when prosecuting and sentencing those individuals.  Furthering, does a longer sentence benefit the war on drugs financially where it could be spent on added programs devised to fight drug abuse. 

If you have been arrested and charged with a drug offense in Florida, it is acutely important that you contact a qualified criminal defense attorney.  John Musca can vigorously secure all possible defenses that are available.

Continue reading "Seventh Person Arrested in Connection to Drug Charges Against Panama City Surgeon " »

As an experienced criminal defense attorney whose offices serve the entire State of Florida, John Musca evalutes unique criminal cases that may improve public policy, practices and public opinion.  Once such case it that of Ryan Ehlis.  The Ehlis case marks a serious flaw within the justice system.
In January 1999, Ehlis, a college student in Bismark, North Dakota, began taking Adderall to control his Attention Deficit Disorder and to help him with his studies.  Within 10 days of taking the prescribed medication he slipped into a psychotic fog, shot and killed his infant daughter, then shot himself in the stomach.  He said God told him to do it. 

The criminal court found him innocent after testimony by a psychiatrist and by the manufacturer of the drug that the "psychotic state" was a very rare side effect of Adderall use.  Various doctors testified Ehlis suffered from an "Anphetamine-Induced Psychotic Disorder".  This is a DSM label for a psychotic disorder caused by medication prescribed to help a less severe disorder. Medical experts and Shire US, Inc., the manufacturer of Adderall, commented that "despite the slaying, Adderall remains a safe and effective drug for controlling AD/HD. "

Continue reading "Florida Attorney John Musca Discusses Evidence between Psychiatric Meds & Violent Criminal Behavior " »

So called 'magic mushrooms' are fungi which contain the psychedelic substance psilocybin. Magic mushrooms are used in the United States as well as other parts of the world as a recreational drug and are also known as shrooms and mushies. Magic mushrooms themselves are not illegal under federal law, but the active ingredient psilocybin is, says Florida criminal defense attorney Johm Musca. 

Florida law, however, has created a unique exception with regard to its drug laws governing magic mushrooms. Under Florida it is not illegal to possess a magic mushroom provided that it has been freshly picked and the person did not know it contained psilocybin. The law in

Florida was determined in a Florida Supreme Court case known as Fiske v. State. In that case the state of Florida had attempted to prosecute Robert Fiske for possessing freshly picked mushrooms. The Florida Supreme Court noted that the state legislature had not specified that all psilocybin mushrooms were illegal, but had merely banned the active ingredient of psilocybin. It held that the Florida drug law did not place a reasonable person on notice that magic mushrooms were per se illegal. The Supreme Court created the additional requirement that the state prove that Fiske knew the mushrooms he possessed contained psilocybin.

The charge of psilocybin possession is still a felony in Florida if the state can prove the knowledge requirement. The Florida exception is in conflict with federal law which does not impose a knowledge requirement on the state to prove that the defendant possessed psilocybin. Federal law governing magic mushrooms also does not distinguish between fresh and dried mushrooms. The United States Supreme Court has previously held in a case concerning medical marijuana in California that the U.S. Congress has the right to create federal drug laws that override state laws.

South Florida has long been known as a center for recovery centers for drug addiction, which many people seek out after facing drug charges for possession or trafficking. Delray Beach, in particular, is one area that has often been called the recovery capital of the United States. Recently, the managers of sober houses, long allowed to operate with little public oversight, have come under additional scrutiny. A check of 15 sober houses in Delray Beach by the Palm Beach Post showed that nine of the owners of those houses have criminal records. A sober house, also sometimes known as a halfway house, is a place where recovering drug addicts can live in a structured and sober environment to help ease their re-entry into society. These homes are not licensed under state law and there is no requirement that the owner of a sober house undergo a criminal background check prior to opening the house. Some advocates of sober housing have downplayed the findings, stating that having people with difficult prior records can be an effective example for recovering addicts.

Jim Green, who is part of an effort to regulate sober houses in Delray Beach, has argued that having a high concentration of addicts in the Delray area can have a negative effect on the surrounding community due to the potential for relapse and re-offending. "Sometimes those in recovery fall quite spectacularly," Green said. Delray city commissioners have recently sided with Green in an effort to move sober houses from single family neighborhoods, reducing from 5 to 3 the number of unrelated people who were permitted to live in the same house together. There has been some discussion that further licensing is necessary for these houses in order prevent sober houses from have a detrimental effect on the surrounding neighborhood. Some Delray Beach residents have complained about loud parties and people coming and going late at night at sober houses.

In our last article, Florida criminal defense lawyer John Musca discussed how some other states have structured their laws to deal with marijuana. We also discussed some of the penalties for possession of marijuana under Florida. In this article we will finish our examination of how Florida law deals with marijuana possession and sale.

Under Florida Law, possession or sale of more than 25 pounds of marijuana (Florida Statute 893.135) is considered trafficking and is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison. As with its definition of trafficking for other drugs, many people are surprised to learn that the crime of trafficking in Florida does not require a person to have either sold or intended to sell the drugs. Mere possession is enough to prove trafficking under Florida law if the controlled substance is above a certain weight.

A mandatory minimum sentence under Florida law means that a judge is unable to reduce that person's sentence from the three year minimum - even if there are mitigating factors once the person is convicted of the crime. Minimum mandatory sentences, therefore, shift the discretion in how a person is sentenced from judges to prosecutors. Sometimes, a prosecutor may offer a defendant a sentence more lenient than the mandatory minimum under exceptional circumstances, but a person who is not offered a plea deal from the prosecutor and who is subsequently convicted of trafficking has no wiggle room to ask the judge for a lower sentence. In addition to Florida's mandatory minimum sentence for possession or sale of more than 25 pounds of marijuana, there is also a mandatory minimum seven year prison sentence for possession or sale of between 2,000 and 7,000 pounds of marijuana as well as a 15 year minimum sentence for possession or sale of 10,000 pounds or more. Using the estimated average dosage of marijuana of 1 gram, 10,000 pounds of marijuana is over 4.5 million doses, or enough marijuana for a daily smoker to smoke for over 12,000 years.

Each of the 50 states has taken a different approach to dealing with the drug marijuana, according to Florida criminal defense attorney John Musca. In states that are relatively tolerant of the drug, like Alaska and California, possession of a small amount of marijuana is considered a minor offense. In Alaska, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the state constitution, which guarantees all citizens the right to privacy, forbids the state from arresting an individual for possession of marijuana. In California, marijuana is widely allowed for medicinal purposes with an estimated 200,000 registered marijuana patients and 1,250 registered marijuana dispensaries across the state. Further, both California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin have admitted to publicly smoking marijuana with little public backlash. Additionally, 11 other states have either decriminalized the offense of possessing a small amount of marijuana or have made prosecuting the crime the lowest level priority of law enforcement.

Florida, however, has taken the approach of 36 other states and criminalized the possession of a small amount of marijuana. Under Florida law, possession of marijuana under 20 grams is considered a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to one year in jail. Possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana is considered a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. Any time a person is convicted of possession of marijuana or any other drug in Florida he faces serious collateral consequences with regard to his driver's license. Any conviction for possession of any drug automatically suspends a person's license for two years. By way of comparison, a conviction for a first DUI offense results in a person's driver's license being suspended for six months. A conviction for misdemeanor marijuana possession also creates a potential three year on eligibility for public housing, a ban on state financial aid including financial aid for education, a five year ban on eligibility to become a foster parent and a ban on public employment unless you have successfully completed a drug treatment program.