Consequences

Risky Business: Florida's Drug Laws

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By Stephanie Gonzalez

What would happen if authorities discovered you’ve been using or selling drugs? You’ll likely go to jail.  While this shouldn’t be news, some may need a little further explanation. 

Not all drugs are the same, so the legal consequences range drastically depending on the substance.  There are five classifications, or “schedules,” of drugs.    Each schedule defines drugs based on the drug’s effects on the mind and body.  As the severity increases, so do the legal repercussions.  Schedule I drug charges will receive the most severe penalties. Schedule I drugs consist of the most severe opiates and hallucinogenic substances.

For example, somebody who is arrested for possession of one to nine grams of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) – a schedule I drug – receive a mandatory sentence of five to 40 years in jail and up to $2 million in fines.  On the other hand, “the federal penalty for the first-offense sale of Schedule V drugs is not more than one year, fine of not more than $100,000 individual/ $250,000 not individual," according to the University of Alabama.  

Some may believe that they can be protected against charges for drug possession with ignorance of the law.  In such cases, prosecutors would need to have substantial evidence that the individual was well aware of the substance and its use in order to penalize the offender.  However, Florida is the only state which no longer allows for such protection.

According to Ashby Jones, blogger for Wall Street Journal:

“To win a conviction under the drug laws of most states, a prosecutor has to convince a jury that the defendant knew he owned or sold an illicit substance. But in 2002, Florida became the only state in the country to do away with the ‘knowledge requirement’ in its main drug law.”

Serving time in jail and paying fines won’t be the end of punishment. Many employers check for criminal backgrounds and, unless the charge has been sealed, will take note of any charges past and present.  Also, schools may not accept students with criminal backgrounds, either.  

In Florida, drug charges – both misdemeanor and felony – will remain permanent on record, according to Orlando Criminal Defense attorneys Finebloom, Haenel & Higgins.  Though Florida law offers ways to expunge or seal a charge, several restrictions on who and which charges can be considered for these options may deter people from applying.

Expungement and sealing charges are similar processes, both of which deny public access to the criminal record.  When a charge is sealed, courts retain the information and use it when necessary.  However, when charges are expunged, only one confidential copy is retained in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and all other copies are destroyed and no longer used, according to criminal trial lawyer, Richard E. Hornsby.

Knowing the law for drug offenses is vital if an individual wishes to participate in such activities.  Consequences range in severity, and knowing just how much punishment can be received for any particular drug may be more effective than the simple threat of “You’ll go to jail.”

An interview with Public Safety on drug and alcohol consequences

By Brittany McCaughey and Eleanor Roy

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Depending on the amount and type of drug a student has, Public Safety may not call the DeLand Police Department when the drug is found in a student’s possession, according to Public Safety Director Bob Matusick.

“The basic policy is that it’s a violation of Florida state statue to have drugs, narcotics, whatever, on college campus,” Matusick said.

He added, however, that if a student is found with a small amount of marijuana, then Public Safety usually handles the situation internally instead of involving police. “If it’s a minor amount of say marijuana, then we will probably handle it internally,” he said, adding that they always reserve the right to call the police under any circumstances, especially if it is a repeat violator.

If a student is in possession of any other drug that is a felony, then Public Safety will automatically call the police. “Any felony drug possession, whether it’s marijuana, or any other type of drugs or controlled substances that are a scheduled narcotic, if it’s a felony, we’re going to call DPD, regardless of the circumstances,” Matusick said. “We will not shelter somebody from a felony on this campus.”

Matusick said that possession of drugs like cocaine or non-prescribed pharmaceutical medication is automatically a felony in Florida, and if a student were to be found in possession of these drugs, then the police would deal with it.

Even carrying a prescribed medication in a bottle other than its original one is technically a violation of Florida statute, and students can therefore be held accountable for carrying pills that they don’t have a prescription for.

When it comes to medications like Adderall or other ADHD drugs, prevalent on most college campuses, Matusick said that even the possession of a pill that is not yours can result in punishment. “[If] you’re in possession of a controlled substance… the mere possession of it is a felony.”

If a student is found with large amounts of a non-prescribed medication then the consequences could be jacked up even more, depending on the amount. “And then when it comes to the dispensing, if you’re selling the Adderall, I mean it’s a whole different class of felony,” Matusick said. “Now you’re dealing in a controlled substance which ratchets that felonies phase up even higher.”

Some students may not even be aware that possession of a non-prescribed medication is a felony in Florida, regardless of the amount. “I try and explain that to folks all the time, but you know a little mistake or a hiccup on this end can severely affect your outcome on this end,” he said, adding that convictions will show up when a potential employer does background checks.

Matusick said that Adderall usually appears on campus around midterms or finals and that Public Safety looks for it, but it’s difficult to tell if a student is using it unless they are found with the pills themselves.

“When we’re dealing with somebody and we have the opportunity to look in their possessions or whatever, we certainly do,” Matusick said of room searches, adding that they do this without violating the student’s right to privacy. “Those are few and far between, albeit some people say that we do it too often, we don’t do it that often.”

If a student is found in possession of a drug and Public Safety handles it internally, then the drug will be destroyed by Matusick or Public Safety Captain John Szaroleta with a witness present. If it is a case where DPD is involved, then they will be in charge of destroying it.

Cases where students are found with alcohol, on the other hand, are almost always handled internally by Public Safety.

“We choose to handle that in house,” he said. “ Now, at times, DPD’s been on campus because they patrol this campus and they’ve arrived at you know, dorm rooms or whatever, they hear the noise complain or they hear the racket as they’re driving by or the yelling and screaming and they take action in and of themselves. But typically we do not call the police department for alcohol violations on this campus. We choose to handle those in house.”

Matusick did note that although drugs may be slightly abused on Stetson University’s campus, nothing compares to the amount of alcohol abuse that is seen on campus.

“Alcohol is a totally different class. Alcohol, without a doubt, is abused on this campus on a daily basis to the point where, you know, we’re all adults and people have a drink and that’s fine, myself included. I mean, I had a sangria last night, you know, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But the abuse of drinking, if you want to talk about alcohol, the abuse of drinking is something that concerns me on this campus, has since I’ve been here and we’ve been very fortunate despite the actions of some people, we’ve been very fortunate not to lose somebody on this campus from alcohol poisoning,” he said adding that many students have been very close to permanent injuries due to alcohol.

On the weekend of April 12, two students were taken to the hospital for drinking too much alcohol, according to Public Safety Daily Reports.

Stetson University policy prohibits students from taking part in the illegal use of alcohol. The alcohol policy pertains to any student under the age of 21.

“You know, it’s a policy violation. If it’s a policy violation we deal with it. We confiscate whatever alcohol is illegal and we write them up and it goes before the policy review committee from residential life, and they take whatever actions they need to take,” Matusick said when asked about what happens if alcohol is found in a student’s room.

As many would assume, Stetson does have areas of its campus in which alcohol and drugs occur more often than others. Matusick would not say where, but he did go on to say, “Yes, I think there are certain areas that have more of an issue with alcohol and policy violations and other issues. Will I tell you what they are? No. You can only imagine. But I don’t want to label for fear of upsetting somebody. I don’t want to label one area worse than another area. But yes, there are areas on campus that are more prevalent for alcohol violations or drug violations or policy violations than other areas. But none of them are immune from them. But yes, there are some areas that are frequented more often than others.”

Even though Matusick sees alcohol as a large issue at Stetson, he still believes that Stetson, compared to other schools, has a good handle on the alcohol issues. “I don’t want to say that we’re better than all but we’re better than most… Are we perfect? No, we’re not perfect and we’ll never be perfect. Even if you banned the alcohol and whatever from the campus, they’re still going to be people here that would smuggle their alcohol and choose to drink it. So I think when we compare ourselves to the universities, you know, again I think we’re better than most. And I don’t ever want to have to eat those words but we do a pretty good job and our students, for the most part, our students are pretty good.”