Editor’s note: This commentary is provided by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) of Florida A&M University.
While possession of marijuana is still a crime in Florida, getting caught with it does not necessarily lead to arrest and criminal prosecution in some cities and counties.
As State Attorney Jack Campbell explains, the charge for marijuana possession ranges from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the amount and what a person intends to do with it.
Law enforcement officers, he says, have discretion in determining how someone possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana is processed through the justice system.
Of the thousands of legal cases his office handled last year, he says only 82 were for marijuana crimes, and most of them were sent to a diversion program that offers low-level offenders a second chance.
In some cases involving more than 20 grams of pot, a felony, Mr. Campbell says offenders may be able to plead down to a misdemeanor or go to “drug court.”
Like the diversion program, drug court (which usually takes 12-18 months to complete) sets rules that must be followed, such as taking urine tests, undergoing counseling, and appearing in court for status checks, says Shannon Cash-Russell, director of Criminal Courts with the Leon County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller.
Interestingly, someone serving probation, regardless of the crime, may still be able to use medical marijuana in Florida, according to Anthony Washington, supervisor of Probation with Leon County Government.
The state attorney believes Florida will someday legalize adult-use marijuana, but he is concerned there will be unintended consequences from such a move.
Washington said, “I just hope that, if we are going to take that route, that we specifically increase programs like FAMU’s Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative [MMERI] and we do more research to see what the economic effects, social effects, as well as the effects on some minorities are.”
Visit https://bit.ly/FloridasLaws to watch MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum featuring State Attorney, State of Florida, Second Judicial Circuit, Jack Campbell, Supervisor of Probation, Leon County Government Anthony Washington, and Director of Criminal Courts in Leon County, Florida, Shannon Cash-Russell discuss Florida’s cannabis rules.
