Sale, delivery, and manufacture is the step above possession, and it does not take a cash sale to get there. Florida defines delivery broadly enough that a handoff with no money is a delivery, and manufacture reaches growing and producing as well as packaging. The result is that conduct many folks would not call dealing gets charged as a second-degree felony.
Delivery Is Broader Than a Sale
Section 893.13(1) makes it a crime to sell, manufacture, or deliver, or to possess with intent to do any of those, a controlled substance. Delivery is the wide net: it means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of a substance from one person to another, whether or not money changes hands and whether or not there is an agency relationship. So the State does not need a completed sale or an exchange of cash, only proof that a transfer, or an attempt at one, took place.
I began as an Assistant Public Defender in Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, in Tampa, and today I am one of six ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientists in the state, with training at the bench of a forensic laboratory. A drug case usually comes down to two forensic questions: was the search lawful, and can the State prove what the substance was and how much of it weighed. Those are the questions I am built to press, against the lab’s own standards. Learn more about my background.
The Penalty Tracks the Schedule
| Substance | Classification | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Most Schedule I or II substances | Second-degree felony | Up to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine |
| Schedule III or IV substances | Third-degree felony | Up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine |
| Cannabis (sale or delivery) | Third-degree felony | Up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine |
| Cannabis, gift of 20 grams or less | First-degree misdemeanor | Up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine |
Source: section 893.13(1), Florida Statutes. A 1,000-foot school, park, church, or public-housing zone raises the offense and adds a 3-year mandatory minimum for the listed substances. Statutes and penalties last verified June 2026.
School Zones and Other Enhancements
Where the conduct happened can matter as much as what it was. Selling, delivering, or manufacturing within 1,000 feet of a school during the day, or at any time near a child care facility, a park, a community center, a college, a place of worship, a convenience business, or public housing, raises the offense a degree and, for the listed substances, carries a 3-year mandatory minimum. These enhancements turn on a measured distance and a precise definition of the protected place, both of which can be challenged. Selling to a minor or using a minor in a sale carries its own enhanced exposure.
How I Defend a Sale or Delivery Charge
I start with the line between a delivery and simple possession, because these are often overcharged from a possession case, and I test whether a transfer occurred at all. From there it is the lawfulness of the search or the controlled buy, the lab’s identification of the substance, and, where a zone enhancement is alleged, the real distance to the protected location. The search and the lab work are the same fights described on the search and seizure and challenging the evidence pages.
Common Questions
What is the difference between sale, delivery, and possession with intent?
Sale is a transfer for consideration. Delivery is broader: under section 893.13 it means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of a controlled substance, with or without money and with or without an agency relationship, so a simple handoff is a delivery. Possession with intent does not require any transfer at all, only possession plus the intent to transfer.
Do the police need to catch me selling for a delivery charge?
No. Because delivery includes a transfer with no money changing hands, the State can charge it from a handoff, a controlled buy, or an attempted transfer. It does not need a completed sale or an exchange of cash. What it does need is proof that a transfer, or an attempt at one, happened.
What are the penalties for sale or delivery of a controlled substance?
It depends on the drug. Sale, delivery, or manufacture of most Schedule I or II substances is a second-degree felony, up to 15 years. Schedule III and IV substances are a third-degree felony, up to 5 years. Sale or delivery of cannabis is a third-degree felony, while giving away 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor.
How does a school zone or park change the charge?
It raises it. Selling, delivering, or manufacturing a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, child care facility, park, college, church, convenience business, or public housing bumps the offense up a degree and, for the listed substances, adds a 3-year mandatory minimum. The exact distance and the nature of the location are frequently contested.
What defenses apply to a sale or delivery charge?
The line between delivery and mere possession, whether a transfer occurred, the lawfulness of the search or the controlled buy, the lab's identification of the substance, and, for a zone enhancement, the measured distance to the protected location. Many of these cases are overcharged from possession and can be brought back down.
Related: Drug crimes overview, Possession with intent, Drug trafficking, and Marijuana offenses.
This page is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The offenses discussed here are governed by chapter 893, Florida Statutes, among others, and the law changes, so penalties should be confirmed against the current statute. Every case turns on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
