Possession of certain drugs without prescriptions unlawfulFla. Stat. § 499.03
Criminal sentencing outcomes across 61 Florida counties, 5,153 charges recorded, 2018–2026.
What Fla. Stat. § 499.03 covers
Chapter 499 of the Florida Statutes — Florida Drug and Cosmetic Act. A single statute can span several offences at different degrees, and the figures on this page pool every degree. No single rate here is the rate for any one degree.
How often did this charge end in state prison, by county?
Sorted alphabetically, never worst-first. Every rate below has one denominator and it is stated in the column heading: all charges recorded, not convictions. A rate computed on convictions would be higher, and mixing the two is why the same statute can appear to have different “worst counties” on different pages. Across the 42 counties with enough records to publish a rate, the median is 0.0%.
| County | Charges recorded | State prison, per 100 charges recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Alachua County | 31 | 3.2% |
| Bay County | 166 | 1.2% |
| Broward County | 33 | 0.0% |
| Charlotte County | 74 | 0.0% |
| Citrus County | 21 | 4.8% |
| Clay County | 17 | 0.0% |
| Collier County | 38 | 0.0% |
| Columbia County | 20 | 20.0% |
| Desoto County | 48 | 0.0% |
| Duval County | 211 | 0.0% |
| Escambia County | 232 | 0.0% |
| Flagler County | 10 | 10.0% |
| Hernando County | 169 | 1.2% |
| Hillsborough County | 641 | 0.5% |
| Holmes County | 20 | 0.0% |
| Indian River County | 42 | 0.0% |
| Jackson County | 11 | 0.0% |
| Lake County | 41 | 0.0% |
| Lee County | 55 | 0.0% |
| Leon County | 28 | 3.6% |
| Manatee County | 114 | 1.8% |
| Marion County | 122 | 2.5% |
| Miami-Dade County | 49 | 4.1% |
| Monroe County | 37 | 0.0% |
| Nassau County | 49 | 2.0% |
| Okaloosa County | 101 | 1.0% |
| Okeechobee County | 30 | 0.0% |
| Orange County | 14 | 0.0% |
| Palm Beach County | 109 | 0.0% |
| Pasco County | 314 | 2.2% |
| Pinellas County | 605 | 0.3% |
| Polk County | 604 | 0.0% |
| Putnam County | 37 | 0.0% |
| Santa Rosa County | 107 | 0.0% |
| Sarasota County | 191 | 0.5% |
| Seminole County | 11 | 0.0% |
| St. Johns County | 35 | 0.0% |
| St. Lucie County | 22 | 0.0% |
| Sumter County | 107 | 2.8% |
| Volusia County | 472 | 0.0% |
| Walton County | 23 | 0.0% |
| Washington County | 11 | 0.0% |
Counties with too few records to publish a sentencing rate (19)
Fewer than 10 records each. The count is published; the rate is not.
- Bradford County 7 cases
- Calhoun County 1 case
- Dixie County 1 case
- Franklin County 6 cases
- Glades County 7 cases
- Gulf County 4 cases
- Hamilton County 1 case
- Hardee County 1 case
- Hendry County 4 cases
- Highlands County 7 cases
- Jefferson County 7 cases
- Levy County 4 cases
- Liberty County 2 cases
- Madison County 1 case
- Martin County 8 cases
- Suwannee County 4 cases
- Taylor County 7 cases
- Union County 1 case
- Wakulla County 8 cases
Source, window and the n≥10 floor
Florida Clerk of Courts public records, under Fla. Stat. § 900.05. Window: 2018–2026. A sentencing rate is published for a county only where that county has at least 10 records for this charge. Percentages are weighted by case count. Where the categories on a county page sum to less than 100%, the remainder is a sentence not recorded in the public extract, and that county page names it.
The statute
Past sentencing patterns do not predict future outcomes in any individual case. CaseParity does not recommend litigation strategy, plea decisions, sentencing positions, or appellate arguments. Sentencing outcomes reflect many factors not captured in structured public records.
CaseParity is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Documented past outcomes, reported in aggregate; not a prediction about any individual case. CaseParity never looks up individual cases.