Felony Cannabis Charge Reduced to Misdemeanor Charge

M.R. was arrested and charged with six felony counts of Manufacturing Cannabis and one count of misdemeanor possession. The charges were filed after M.R. was stopped with a U- Haul containing a large number of mature marijuana plants. M.R. had significant prior criminal history that was going to be used against him in this case to make his penalties more severe. If convicted, our client was facing significant incarceration. First, we asked for all of the discovery in the case. When we received it, we noticed that it contained no drug test lab results. The State needed this to prove that it had in fact seized plants from M.R. that contained cannabis. We requested the evidence but never received it. At a status conference, the State announced that it was ready to proceed to trial. Knowing we had not yet received the evidence and the State could not prove its case, we set the matter for trial. Just prior to the trial, Florida's new hemp law went into effect which legalizes the possession and use of hemp, and thereby required law enforcement officers to prove, through lab analysis, the substance is cannabis and not hemp. Based on the change in the law and the State’s lack of sufficient proof of a felony amount, we were able to negotiate the dismissal of all the felony charges and, in exchange, our client pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge with a withhold of adjudication and a small fine.