Possession of Marijuana can be either a 3rd degree felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $5000 fine, or is can be a 1st degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in county jail and up to $1000 fine depending on if you are charged with less than 20 grams or not. Recently Florida has been in the process of medicalizing marijuana, however possession of marijuana also referred to as cannabis without a prescription is still a crime in any amount. Don’t be fooled into thinking the recent ballot initiative to make marijuana recreational means no one in Florida or Gainesville is being prosecuted for marijuana, because they are. The war on drugs is not over, and until Florida law accurately reflects what a majority of the population believes regarding marijuana possession you can still be at risk of prosecution, jail time, and lengthy periods of drug offender probation if you are caught possessing marijuana in Gainesville, or anywhere in Florida.