St. Petersburg Drug Lawyer

Florida still treats drug cases harshly. Possession of any controlled substance other than a small amount of cannabis is a felony, a conviction suspends your driver’s license, and the line between possession and trafficking is drawn by weight alone. At the same time, Pinellas County has more ways to resolve a drug charge without a conviction than almost any other kind of case, from pre-arrest diversion to drug court, if the case is handled correctly from the start.

Goldman Wetzel defends people charged with drug offenses in St. Petersburg and throughout Pinellas County, from a first possession charge to trafficking and federal conspiracy cases. Both of our attorneys work on every case, and one of us is a former Pinellas County prosecutor.

Drug Charges We Handle in St. Petersburg

How Florida Charges Drug Offenses

The charge depends on the substance, the amount, and what the State says you intended to do with it. Under Fla. Stat. § 893.13:

• Possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail. Concentrates, vape cartridges, and edibles are not covered by the 20-gram rule and are charged as felonies.
• Possession of any other controlled substance, or more than 20 grams of cannabis, is a third-degree felony, up to five years in prison. That includes a single pill without a prescription.
• Possession of more than 10 grams of certain Schedule I drugs, such as heroin or fentanyl, is a first-degree felony, up to 30 years.
• Sale, delivery, or possession with intent to sell cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, or most other Schedule I and II drugs is a second-degree felony, up to 15 years. For cannabis and most Schedule III and IV drugs it is a third-degree felony.
• Within 1,000 feet of a school, park, church, college, public housing, or treatment facility, those charges move up one degree, and a sale of cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, or methamphetamine near a school between 6 a.m. and midnight carries a three-year mandatory minimum. In a city as dense as St. Petersburg, a large share of sale cases are charged this way.
• Trafficking begins at a set weight for each drug and carries a mandatory minimum of three to 25 years. Our drug trafficking page has the full table.
• Drug paraphernalia is a first-degree misdemeanor, and it is the charge most often added to a possession case.

Fentanyl, xylazine, and similar substances packaged to look like candy, gummies, or vitamins carry a three-year mandatory minimum even below trafficking weight, and selling 4 grams or more of them to a minor can mean 25 years to life.

Where St. Petersburg Drug Cases Are Heard

Most drug arrests in the city are made by the St. Petersburg Police Department, often during a traffic stop, and by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Larger investigations involve the Sheriff’s narcotics units, the DEA, or Homeland Security Investigations, and those cases may be filed in federal court in Tampa instead of state court.

State charges are prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office for the Sixth Judicial Circuit and heard at the Pinellas County Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North in Clearwater. First appearance, arraignment, motions, and trial for a St. Petersburg case all happen there.

Ways to Resolve a Drug Charge Without a Conviction

• Pre-arrest diversion. The Sheriff’s Adult Pre-Arrest Diversion program accepts some first-time cannabis and paraphernalia cases. A person who completes it is never arrested or charged. The referral is made by the officer at the scene, which is why what you say during the stop matters.
• Drug court and drug PTI. Under Fla. Stat. § 948.08(6), a person charged with a nonviolent felony who has a substance abuse problem and two or fewer prior felony convictions is eligible for pretrial intervention with treatment, including Pinellas County’s Adult Drug Court. The State can object, but to block admission it has to prove the person was selling drugs. On completion, the court must dismiss the charge, and the arrest can be expunged.
• Misdemeanor intervention. The State Attorney’s Office diverts many first-time misdemeanor cannabis and paraphernalia cases, ending in dismissal.
• Withhold of adjudication. A withhold on a third-degree felony possession charge is not a conviction and can be sealed later. It still triggers the license suspension, so we ask the court for a business-purposes license where the facts support it.
• Overdose immunity. Under Fla. Stat. § 893.21, a person who in good faith calls for medical help during an overdose, or who is overdosing, cannot be charged with possession or paraphernalia based on evidence found because they called. Police do not always honor this, and we raise it when it applies.

Consequences Beyond the Sentence

• Driver’s license. Any drug conviction, including a misdemeanor cannabis conviction, requires the court to suspend your license for six months or until you complete an evaluation and any required treatment. A business-purposes license is possible only if the judge finds a compelling reason.
• Vehicle and cash forfeiture under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, which runs as a separate civil case. Our article on vehicle forfeiture explains the deadlines.
• Immigration. Any controlled substance conviction other than a single offense of 30 grams or less of cannabis has serious immigration consequences, and sale or trafficking is an aggravated felony. Tell us if you are not a U.S. citizen before any plea is discussed.
• Housing, financial aid, and licensing. Drug convictions affect public housing eligibility, some federal student aid, and professional licenses in nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and real estate.

How Goldman Wetzel Defends Drug Cases

The stop and the search. Most St. Petersburg drug cases begin with a traffic stop. Whether the officer had a lawful reason to stop the car, how long the stop lasted, whether a dog sniff was used, and whether consent to search was actually given are the questions that decide many of these cases. Evidence from an unlawful stop or search is suppressed, and without it there is no case. Our article on when police can search your car explains the rules.

Knowledge and control. Drugs found in a car with passengers, a shared bedroom, or a borrowed bag belong to no one until the State proves who knew they were there and had control over them. “Constructive possession” is the most contested issue in possession cases, and the State’s proof is often an assumption.

Intent to sell. The difference between possession and possession with intent is usually an officer’s opinion about packaging, cash, or scales. We challenge those opinions with the facts, because the difference is a five-year felony versus a fifteen-year one.

The substance itself. Field tests are wrong often enough that the lab result controls, and since Florida legalized hemp, cannabis cases require proof of THC content that the State does not always have. Our article on the hemp law and marijuana arrests explains why.

Resolution. Where the evidence is strong, we work toward diversion, drug court, a withhold, or a reduction that avoids the license suspension and immigration consequences. Where it is not, we file motions to suppress and prepare for trial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is marijuana legal in St. Petersburg?

Only with a valid Florida medical marijuana card, and only in the forms and amounts the card allows. Without a card, possession of 20 grams or less is a misdemeanor, and more than 20 grams, or any concentrate or vape cartridge, is a felony. Pinellas County’s pre-arrest diversion program lets an officer make a referral instead of an arrest for small amounts, but the officer decides, and many cases are still charged criminally. See our article on Florida marijuana laws.

The drugs were not mine. Does that matter?

Yes. The State has to prove you knew the drugs were present and had the ability to control them. In a car or home shared with others, that is often the whole case.

Will I lose my license for a drug conviction?

Yes, for six months, unless the case ends in diversion, dismissal, or a reduced charge that is not a drug offense. We treat the license as part of the negotiation, not an afterthought.

Can a drug charge be sealed or expunged?

A dismissed charge, including one dismissed after drug court or diversion, can be expunged. A withhold of adjudication on a possession charge can be sealed if you have no prior conviction. A conviction cannot. Trafficking charges are excluded even with a withhold. Our expungement page explains the process.

Will my case be in state or federal court?

Almost all possession cases and most sale cases stay in state court. Cases built by the DEA or HSI, interstate shipments, and conspiracies with multiple defendants are filed in federal court in Tampa, where mandatory minimums are longer. We defend clients in both.

Related Pages

• St. Petersburg drug distribution lawyer
• St. Petersburg drug manufacturing lawyer
• Florida drug possession charges
• Florida drug trafficking charges
• Federal drug charges
• Florida drug schedules
• Substantial assistance in drug cases
• Pinellas County • Tampa • Clearwater • Bradenton

Speak With a St. Petersburg Drug Lawyer

Whether it is a first possession charge or a trafficking case, the options are widest at the beginning. If you have been arrested or charged with a drug offense in St. Petersburg or anywhere in Pinellas County, contact Goldman Wetzel or call (727) 828-3900 for a confidential consultation.