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“evidence of a drug-sniffing dog’s satisfactory performance in a certification or training program, the dog’s alert can provide probable cause to search a vehicle.” Drug Dog Search Update – Breaking news that an unwitting dog helped police bust his owner. The cops were chasing a drug suspect who hid in tall grass. The narcs had…

Five Things to Know About the Florida Medical Marijuana Act of 2015 The new law proposed in Florida may be known as “The Florida Medical Marijuana Act.” Yesterday, Florida joined other states in proposed legalization of marijuana / cannabis. Complete text of bill is below, but here are the bullet points: Florida Medical Marijuana –…

Tampa, Florida – $2.00 Worth of Weed, an urban assault vehicle, and a death – Confidential Informant Turns on Tampa Drug Cops- they say, “A C.I. is credible, and their information is verifiable, until they no longer are.” http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/times-exclusive-confidential-informer-blows-whistle-in-jason-westcott-death/2211596 Confidential Informants in Tampa, Florida Very few search warrants we see in drug crimes do not…

An alleged Florida Drug Trafficker Walked on Cocaine charges. Charges were based upon a Cell Phone Search. The Number You Have Tracked is No Longer in Service – He was charged with ” possession of more than 400 grams of cocaine, as well as fleeing and eluding, driving while his license was revoked as a…

There is a knock at the door. It is the police and they have come to take you house away from you. Civil forfeiture is a tool used by drug cops to generate huge revenue for sometimes-minor offenses including cultivation of marijuana. Maitland, Florida tried to take a residential property under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture…

Cops and communities have a new contest – let’s see how much stuff we can take from citizens using civil forfeiture, even though they are not convicted criminals. These cops gone wild seize cash and assets then post “trophy shots” of money. Some police advocate highway interdiction as a way of raising revenue for cash-strapped…

A Florida Drug case just answered two questions: 1) Can the Color of a Vehicle be the Probable Cause for a Traffic Stop? 2) Can cops invent creative reasons to pull you over? Traffic Stop Facts The case began when the cops were looking for a reason to pull a vehicle over and the driver…

Trafficking in these 6 drugs constitutes 97 percent of Federal Drug Prosecutions. How does the DEA, law enforcement, and Federal Prosecutions impact drug trafficking? Sometimes these policy choices impact society in ways that are counter-intuitive. When the focus goes to synthetic opioids like oxycodone, the natural substitute, trafficking in heroin spikes. Recent data shows that…

How and why do we lead the world in per capita number of people in prison? The war on citizens, also known as the war on drugs continues in United States District Courts across the country. The presumptive punishment for almost every drug trafficking case is incarceration. The numbers are in for the most recent…

Pinellas County Drug Court Defense Attorney and former prosecutor is frequently asked several questions. Drug Court is an 18 month supervision program with Department of Corrections / Drug Pre-Trial Intervention. This is also a 12 to 18 month treatment program with treatment offered by DACCO. Upon successful completion of the treatment program and Drug Pre-Trial…