St. Johns County man arrested after police find marijuana grow operation in Putnam County home he was renting

Police searched a Northeast Florida home and found what they described as an elaborate marijuana grow operation and seized plants with a street value of tens of thousands of dollars. Police said they received a search warrant to look inside the home and found 72 mature marijuana plants and marijuana that had already been picked from the plants, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The drugs found inside the home were worth about $80,000, the newspaper reported. When police eventually left the home, they took two truckloads of lights, irrigation systems and other materials used in the alleged grow operation, the newspaper reported.

The man is charged with cultivation of marijuana, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, the newspaper reported. The cultivation and possession charges are both third-degree felonies with a maximum penalty of five years in state prison. The drug paraphernalia charge is a misdemeanor and any time done on that charge would be in county jail, not in state prison. The two felonies are the important charges in this St. Johns County Drug Crimes Case.

Charges and potential penalties in St. Johns County Drug Crimes Cases are based on two main components: the type of drug a person is accused of having and how much of it police find on his or her person. And of the common street drugs people are accused of possessing, charges for marijuana are by far the most lenient, meaning the minimum amounts for serious charges are far higher than for drugs that include cocaine and prescription pain pills. For example, when people have more than 300 plants, they can be charged with drug trafficking and the St. Johns County Drug Crimes Case then becomes a first-degree felony. In this case, the man had 72 plants and isn’t even 25 percent of the way there, despite having what police said is $80,000 worth of marijuana. The threshold of 20 grams to constitute a felony is also far higher than for any other drug. With cocaine, for example, there is no amount that constitutes a misdemeanor. Any amount is a felony. Our St. Johns County Drug Crimes Attorney represents people on all types of drug charges. Our St. Johns County Criminal Defense Attorney will fully investigate your case and provide you with information so you or your loved one can make the best possible decision going forward.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our St. Johns County Drug Crimes Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.