Grow House Operations
There are new laws regarding marijuana and people who grow it in their houses. Due to the medical marijuana laws being interpreted differently in some states, the laws were rewritten to define grow house operations within Florida’s boundaries. A grow house is where marijuana is grown and either used for personal consumption or processed to distribute and sell to others. The new laws define what is illegal and what constitutes drug trafficking in Florida.
What are Grow House Operations
- Grow houses are those that have more than 25 plants being cultivated at one time in one structure. The police will assume it is being grown to distribute to others or be processed so it is transported to others in the region. The charges can be applied to anyone who lives in the house, who has visited the house, who rents the house or who owns the house. So, for instance, you rent the house but never visit, you are still liable because you own the house. Police will assume you know what is going on behind the closed doors since you are collecting rent money from the owners who are possessing the pot plants.
- Grow houses that contain more than 300 plants will be considered as drug trafficking charges as well as other drug charges. The intent is to process and distribute the drugs for a profit and the charges will reflect the severity of the crime. If it is a first offense, the jail time might not be as steep as if it were a second offense. If there is already a first offense, but this one has many more plants involved than the first time, then the penalties will be much harsher.
Previous Grow House Operation Charges
- If probation was violated during or they consider the drug charges to have occurred when you were on probation from a first offense, then you will also have probation violations to deal with on top of the drug charges for the second time. The judge may elect to keep the person in jail longer, enforce a drug rehab program or enforce a longer probation period once jail time and the rehab stints are completed.
Grow house operations can involve people who did not knowingly realize a drug was being grown inside. Grow houses usually only require part of the house, so there could be a separate business run out of another part of the house to cover the money that is being sold for the drugs running out of the basement or other area of the house. For a person who is involved in the legitimate business being run, they might mistakenly be arrested and charged for crimes they had no knowledge of.
No matter what your involvement is in the grow house operation, getting the advice of an attorney is Tampa is recommended. They will be able to answer the questions you have and deal with the paperwork needed to get out of the jam with the court charges you or your loved one find yourself in. Grow house charges could be serious and you will want to be defended to the best possible action.
