Trafficking is a charge measured in grams, not in sales. Because the weight drives a mandatory prison term, the weighing and the search are where the case is decided. Call before you assume the number is final.
Call 904-383-7448Florida trafficking is prosecuted under section 893.135, Florida Statutes, and it is defined by weight alone. The State does not have to prove you sold, offered to sell, or even intended to sell anything. Once the quantity of the substance crosses a statutory threshold, the trafficking charge attaches and brings a mandatory minimum prison sentence with it.
That makes a trafficking case unusual: the most important fact is a number on a scale. Graham W. Syfert defends trafficking charges in Jacksonville and the surrounding counties by testing that number, the search that produced it, and the lab work behind it. Call 904-383-7448.
People hear "trafficking" and picture a dealer moving product across a state line. Florida law is far broader than that. Under section 893.135, the offense is triggered by possessing a controlled substance at or above a threshold weight, and possession alone is enough. Someone holding the substance for personal use can face the same trafficking charge as someone selling it, because the statute looks at the scale, not at the purpose. The threshold and the mandatory minimum differ by substance — cannabis, cocaine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and others each have their own tables — but the structure is the same: cross the weight, and the mandatory sentence follows.
The hardest feature of a trafficking charge is the mandatory minimum. It is a floor written into the statute that a judge cannot go beneath once the weight is established. The term and the fine climb as the weight climbs, and they apply to a first-time offender with no record just as they apply to anyone else. General sentencing principles in section 775.082 and section 775.083, Florida Statutes, set the broader framework, and prior felonies can raise exposure further under section 775.084. Because the mandatory minimum is the engine of the case, defending a trafficking charge usually means attacking the elements that lead to it rather than arguing for leniency at sentencing — though outcomes always depend on the facts.
If the weight is the charge, then how the material was weighed is the battleground. For many substances the statute counts the entire mixture or compound, not just the pure drug, which means filler, packaging residue, and moisture can push a quantity over a threshold it would not otherwise reach. The scale has to be calibrated and the measurement properly recorded. The laboratory analysis that confirms both the identity and the weight of the substance must follow accepted procedure, and the chain of custody from the roadside to the lab bench has to hold together. A field test at the scene is presumptive only; it is not proof of identity or amount. When the weight sits just over a threshold, even a small error or an improperly included component can be the difference between a trafficking count and a lesser charge.
Before any of the substance can be weighed, it has to be found, and most trafficking cases begin with a search. The Fourth Amendment governs whether the traffic stop was lawful, whether the officer had grounds to prolong it for a dog, whether a search of the trunk or the home was authorized, and whether consent was truly given. When a search violates those limits, the drugs it produced can be suppressed, and a trafficking case without the drugs generally cannot proceed. Mr. Syfert reviews the stop, the warrant or its absence, and the recorded timeline as carefully as he reviews the lab report.
Related: Jacksonville drug crime defense · Possession with intent to sell · Marijuana possession
No. Section 893.135 defines trafficking by weight. Possessing the threshold amount is enough, even with no sale and no intent to sell.
It is a prison term and fine set by the statute that a judge cannot sentence below once the weight is proven. The amount rises with the weight and applies even to someone with no prior record.
For many substances, yes — the statute weighs the entire mixture, not just the pure drug. That is why the weighing method, the scale, and the lab analysis are central to the defense.
The call is free and confidential. Whether it is a traffic citation or a felony, the sooner a defense begins, the more can be done. Graham W. Syfert answers his own phone.
Call 904-383-7448Graham W. Syfert, Esq., P.A. · Jacksonville, Florida
Serving Duval, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns Counties