Whats Happens To Your Vehicle When You Get Caught With Drugs

Well a friend of mine is wanting to know what will happen if he were to get pulled over and searched and busted for his 1st offense on under 20g in FL, what will become of his vehicle, will it get takein away for good or does he get it back? he does not o any money on it from what he told me and the vehicle is worth 11,000.. if that helps, and whats the fine / time is he looking at?

Your friend isn't precisely the sharpest knife in the drawer if he hasn't been pulled over for this, but is apparently planning to be.

Penalties for possession are here.

If they want to take him to jail right away, his car will be towed to the police impound yard and he (or his representative) will have to pay storage fees to get it back.

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Quoting LawResearcherMissy

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Your friend isn't precisely the sharpest knife in the drawer if he hasn't been pulled over for this, but is apparently planning to be.

Penalties for possession are here.

If they want to take him to jail right away, his car will be towed to the police impound yard and he (or his representative) will have to pay storage fees to get it back.

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thanks! so u WILL get ur car back, they wont auction it off or keep it forever

Under Florida law, a vehicle can be permanantly seized only if it is used in the commission of a felony. If the amount and/or type of drugs involved results in felony charges, he can kiss the car goodbye.

Since it's paid off (meaning no hassle over the title), law enforcement can certainly ask that the car be forefit, in which case it's either sold or used. If it happens to be a hot rod, they might request the car for themselves for something like the D.A.R.E. program (you know, they get the cool cars and paint them all up), or if the vehicle meets the specs to have certain equipment installed, they might ask for it to be put into service as an undercover unit, or a bait car. Do note that even if it WEREN'T paid off, losing the car can still happen, it's just a little longer process of paperwork on their end. Then you're still stuck with payments and no car. Sweet, huh?

Bottom line is: any felony charge + your car = strong possibility it'll soon be someone else's car.

Then there is the issue of impoundment - lots of Florida cities and counties have ordinances where your car can be taken and stored until you pay a hefty fine. The four most common include:

- Participating in prostitution.
- Buying or selling drugs.
- Playing your car stereo too loudly.
- Riding an all-terrain vehicle on city roads or trespassing on private property.

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Quoting aardvarc

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Under Florida law, a vehicle can be permanantly seized only if it is used in the commission of a felony. If the amount and/or type of drugs involved results in felony charges, he can kiss the car goodbye.

Since it's paid off (meaning no hassle over the title), law enforcement can certainly ask that the car be forefit, in which case it's either sold or used. If it happens to be a hot rod, they might request the car for themselves for something like the D.A.R.E. program (you know, they get the cool cars and paint them all up), or if the vehicle meets the specs to have certain equipment installed, they might ask for it to be put into service as an undercover unit, or a bait car. Do note that even if it WEREN'T paid off, losing the car can still happen, it's just a little longer process of paperwork on their end. Then you're still stuck with payments and no car. Sweet, huh?

Bottom line is: any felony charge + your car = strong possibility it'll soon be someone else's car.

Then there is the issue of impoundment - lots of Florida cities and counties have ordinances where your car can be taken and stored until you pay a hefty fine. The four most common include:

- Participating in prostitution.
- Buying or selling drugs.
- Playing your car stereo too loudly.
- Riding an all-terrain vehicle on city roads or trespassing on private property.

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thanks i heard the fine was $500, and i guess its a good thing he only buys the misdemeanor amounts (under 20 grams).. so that means only felonys like over 20 grams u kiss the car good bye is this true and can they still take the car on a misdemeanor if they want to or no?.. also do u have a source for this information i can show him cuz i have searched and cant find a thing!

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also do u have a source for this information i can show him cuz i have searched and cant find a thing!

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I'm genuinely mystified here...

Rather than looking into what will happen to him when he does something stupid, whapping him upside the head and telling him not to be an idiot?

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Quoting LawResearcherMissy

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I'm genuinely mystified here...

Rather than looking into what will happen to him when he does something stupid, whapping him upside the head and telling him not to be an idiot?

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ok then u be mystified, but im actually against it and im showing him the stuff that will happen to try and scare him to stop doing it!

If that were true then why are you happy that only a felony charge would get the car taken away?

If you were wanting to scare him you'd want his car to be taken away no matter the charge.

What kind of drugs are you talking about here? Coke, Weed, H, or ???? It makes a big difference.
I think you guys need to wake up and realize that a large amount of Americans are involved in some sort of illicet drug activity. Whether is scoring some coke, to giving your friend some vicoden for there stomach cramps, its happening everywhere. For all you know the friendly old lady next door is selling off he prescription to oxycontin to your son or daughter. Help this guy out, our jails are full enough as it is. If you want to help fight drugs it starts in the home. You need to instill values and beliefs in your children that are contrary to the drug culture. Although the idea that one can easily make large amounts of tax free money is always a great lure, plus the suppose glamour of it all (which is BS once you really see whats going down). Waaay off topic here....sorry. Good luck with your drug running! ;)

The fact that he's only possessing misdemeanor amounts does NOT in and of itself protect him from being charged with a felony. Lots of other circumstances can UP the charge from misdemeanor to felony - including being a repeat offender, selling to juveniles, buying from juveniles, doing either within certain distances of schools, etc.