Last verified: May 2026
The Penalty Table
| Quantity / Form | Florida Statute | Classification | Maximum Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≤ 20 g flower (no medical card) | §893.13(6)(b) | 1st-degree misdemeanor | 1 year jail, $1,000 fine, 6-month license suspension |
| Any THC concentrate (no medical card) | §893.13(6)(a) | 3rd-degree felony | 5 years prison, $5,000 fine |
| 20 g – 25 lb flower | §893.13(6)(a) | 3rd-degree felony | 5 years prison, $5,000 fine |
| ≥ 25 lb / 300 plants | §893.135 trafficking | Trafficking felony | 3-year mandatory minimum, $25,000 fine |
| Sale ≤ 20 g, no remuneration | §893.13(1) | Misdemeanor | 1 year jail |
| Sale within 1,000 ft of school / park / church | §893.13(1)(c)–(e) | 2nd-degree felony | Mandatory minimums apply |
| Paraphernalia (without MMTC delivery device) | §893.147 | 1st-degree misdemeanor | 1 year jail, $1,000 fine |
Miami-Dade has operated a civil-citation program for ≤20 g possession since June 2015, but citations are discretionary — not mandatory. A 2023 Miami Herald investigation found 4,200+ marijuana arrests in Miami-Dade since 2019 even with State Attorney declinations dropping ~97% of cases.
§893.13(6)(b) — Possession of 20 Grams or Less
Possession of 20 grams (about 0.7 oz) or less of cannabis flower is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail, a $1,000 fine, and — automatically — a six-month driver’s license suspension under §322.055. This applies to plant material only; concentrates are excluded and treated more harshly.
Inside Miami-Dade, this charge is generally citation-eligible under the 2015 civil-citation ordinance, and most cases are declined for prosecution by the State Attorney’s Office. See the civil citation program page for the discretion gap.
§893.13(6)(a) — More than 20 Grams
Anything between 20 grams and 25 pounds of cannabis flower is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The State Attorney’s declination policy generally applies only to small-quantity, simple-possession cases — felony amounts are routinely prosecuted.
§893.135 — Trafficking Thresholds
Florida treats large-quantity possession as trafficking, with mandatory minimum prison terms:
- 25 lb (or 300 plants): 3-year mandatory minimum, $25,000 fine
- 2,000 lb: 7-year mandatory minimum, $50,000 fine
- 10,000 lb: 15-year mandatory minimum, $200,000 fine
These mandatory minimums survive even an Amendment 3 victory — they exist outside the constitutional medical carve-out and would have remained even if 2024’s recreational measure had passed. More on Amendment 3.
§893.13(1) — Sale, Manufacture, or Delivery
Selling or delivering 20 grams or less for no remuneration is a misdemeanor; selling or delivering for compensation, or any quantity over 20 grams, is a third-degree felony. Sale within 1,000 feet of a school, college, public park, community center, place of worship, or convenience business under §893.13(1)(c)–(e) is a second-degree felony with mandatory minimums.
This is operationally significant in Miami because the urban density of Miami-Dade means almost every street in Brickell, Wynwood, Little Havana, and Miami Beach is within 1,000 feet of something. The school-zone enhancement is one of the most aggressively-charged provisions in Miami-Dade State Attorney filings.
§893.147 — Paraphernalia
Pipes, bongs, grinders, and rolling papers used with cannabis are first-degree misdemeanors under the paraphernalia statute, even if the cannabis itself is not present. A medical card protects a patient’s MMTC-purchased delivery devices under §381.986 but does not blanket-protect a generic glass pipe purchased at a Miami Beach smoke shop.
§932.7055 — Civil Asset Forfeiture
Florida allows civil forfeiture of vehicles and cash connected to drug crimes, with a clear-and-convincing-evidence standard since 2016 reforms. Miami-Dade and the federal government regularly use adoptive forfeiture to send seized cannabis-related assets into the federal system, where federal forfeiture rules are friendlier to the government. A vehicle stopped on Brickell with even moderate-quantity cannabis can be subject to forfeiture proceedings independent of any criminal conviction.
The 6-Month License Suspension
A particularly painful provision: §322.055 imposes an automatic 6-month driver’s license suspension on anyone convicted of any drug offense in Florida — including the misdemeanor 20 g possession. In a sprawling, transit-poor metro area like Miami-Dade, losing a license for half a year can mean losing a job. Hardship licenses are available but require a separate DHSMV process.
Distribution by Volume vs. Distribution by Practice
Florida prosecutors consider circumstantial evidence of intent to distribute — baggies, scales, larger quantities, communications — even at flower amounts that would otherwise qualify as simple possession. A $40 civil citation under the Miami-Dade ordinance can become a state felony if the officer believes evidence of distribution exists.
Companion Site — Statewide Florida Detail
For statewide cannabis penalty context outside Miami-Dade, county-level enforcement variation across the 67 Florida counties, and Florida-wide arrest data, see CannabisFL.org.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: Florida Concentrate-Felony Trap, Florida Marijuana DUI Rules, Is Weed Legal in Miami? Miami Cannabi....