Category Archives: Drug Offenses
The Entrapment Defense And Drug Cases
Defendants in criminal cases sometimes base their defenses on the concept of illegal search and seizure, a practice forbidden by the Fourth Amendment. In other words, they claim that they committed the crime, but the police had no right to catch them doing it. For example, this defense applies if a defendant had illegal… Read More »
Pink Cocaine Isn’t Cocaine, And It Isn’t Always Pink
There’s a new drug making an appearance in South Florida’s nightclubs, except that it is not all that new; the drug was first synthesized in 1974, which means that it is possible for you to be a full 20 years younger than the drug and still be too old to go to nightclubs. Meanwhile,… Read More »
Drug Possession Charges Are Much Worse When A Child Is Present
Drug possession with intent to sell is a much more serious charge than simple possession. When defendants get charged with possession with intent to sell, defense lawyers are sometimes able to arrange plea deals that reduce the charges to simple possession if the quantity of drugs found in the defendant’s residence or car was… Read More »
Will The Court Give You A Lighter Sentence Because Of Your Family Caregiving Obligations?
Artistic representations sometimes personify justice as a blindfolded woman, but when it comes to imposing sentences in criminal court, judges see the person, not just the crime. Some offenses have mandatory minimum sentences, but except for those requirements, judges have some leeway in determining the sentences of defendants who plead guilty or are convicted… Read More »
Federal Government Considers Removing Cannabis From Schedule I Controlled Substances Category
Controlled substances are drugs considered dangerous enough that the law subjects their sale and consumption to more restrictions than it does with ordinary consumer products. The Controlled Substances Act classifies controlled substances into five different categories, known as schedules. Schedules II through V are pharmaceutical drugs with approved medical uses, but which also have… Read More »
Newly Enacted Florida Law Categorizes Eight Synthetic Opioids As Schedule I Controlled Substances
The classification of drugs on the five schedules listed in the Controlled Substances Act has less to do with their chemical composition or its potency than with its accepted medical uses and its abuse potential. Schedule I controlled substances are widely abused but have no legally accepted uses in medicine. Schedule II controlled substances… Read More »
What Floridians Should Know About The Kratom Consumer Protection Act
Kratom, which is the common name for the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree and products derived from them, has been at the center of legal controversies in recent years. M. speciosa is native to Southeast Asia and is a close relative of the Coffea genus of plants from which coffee is derived. In… Read More »
Kodak Black Avoids Prison After Positive Drug Test
Bill Kapri, a recording artist who performs under the stage name Kodak Black, has been a fixture of South Florida’s hip hop scene since he was in his teens. He has also had his share of legal troubles, only some of which have to do with drugs. In the summer of 2022, Kapri was… Read More »
Is Super Meth The Next Big Drug Epidemic?
Every so often, the media makes a big deal about a new addition to the drug supply. The media hype often comes with a heavy dose of stereotypes about the users of those drugs. All of those feature stories on the evening news about inner city crackheads, trailer park meth heads, and apathetic young… Read More »
New Study Supports Ketamine Therapy As A Treatment For Cocaine Use Disorder
If you are judging by the number of overdose deaths, fentanyl is the most dangerous drug out there. In fact, opioids have dominated the headlines about addiction, overdose, and drug-related crime in the United States for more than a decade. Many people who have suffered from opioid use disorder began their relationship with opioids… Read More »