Marijuana Defense Attorneys In Greensboro
Stops, Searches And Charges
Despite national trends towards decriminalization, marijuana still plays a large role in North Carolina criminal law.
You can be charged with possessing it, driving while impaired by it, or even searched based on the odor of it. Many otherwise good and law-abiding North Carolina citizens are still being prosecuted, and some even charged with felonies for possession of just a few ounces of marijuana. That can seem particularly unfair considering that in many states, small quantities of marijuana possession can be purchased and consumed legally.
Fortunately, in an evolving landscape of case law since industrial hemp has been legalized, you may have more defenses than ever before to these types of charges. Call us to learn more about how we can help you fight your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an officer search me or my car based on the odor of marijuana?
Like all good legal questions, the answer is: it depends. Whether an officer can search your car without a warrant depends on several factors, but the most common one is whether there is probable cause that contraband may be located in the vehicle.
An officer claiming to smell the odor of marijuana may indicate that he or she has probable cause to search the car, but it may not mean that there is actually probable cause to search your person individually. It also does not mean that you are ever required to consent to a search of your vehicle or your person. You may ALWAYS politely decline an officer’s request to search. If they choose to search the vehicle anyway, do not try to physically stop them, but you can repeat that you are not consenting to the search.
As long as you have asserted your rights and have not changed your mind during the search, you may be giving your lawyer an opportunity to file a motion to suppress anything found in the search later. That means that even if an officer finds marijuana, it may not be able to be used in a case against you if it was obtained in violation of your state and federal constitutional rights.
Can I be charged with Driving While Impaired because of marijuana?
Yes. However, whether you are guilty of DWI depends on whether you were actually impaired by marijuana while you were driving. Law enforcement officers are primarily trained on standardized field sobriety tests that were designed to detect impairment from alcohol. There are no standardized field tests in regular use in North Carolina to detect marijuana impairment. As a result, you may have been charged with a DWI because an officer believed that you consumed marijuana.
However, just as it is not necessarily illegal to drink responsibly and then later drive within legal limits, it is similarly not against the law to drive simply because you smoked marijuana at some earlier point in time. Call an experienced Greensboro DWI attorney who knows how to cross-examine a law enforcement officer about these issues in a potential DWI trial.
Note: IT IS ALWAYS SAFEST TO ABSTAIN FROM ALCOHOL OR ANY IMPAIRING SUBSTANCE BEFORE DRIVING.
How has hemp legalization affected marijuana-based searches and charges?
Currently, industrial hemp is legal in North Carolina in most of its forms. This includes the flower form which looks and smells completely indistinguishable from marijuana. As a result, it is presently impossible for a law enforcement officer to tell the difference between marijuana and hemp without a lab test to determine specific levels of THC.
If you are ever found to be in possession of marijuana, you have the right to remain silent and cannot be forced to admit whether you are possessing marijuana or hemp. If you invoke your right to remain silent, you may be giving your lawyer another way to potentially challenge and win your case. You may also be preventing an officer from having probable cause to search by remaining polite and silent.
What are some common defenses to marijuana possession?
The most common defense to possession of marijuana is that you didn’t possess it! But what does possession mean? Possession means that you have actual knowledge about the presence of the marijuana AND you have the power and intent to control its disposition or use.
There are two types of possession: actual and constructive. Click here to see the North Carolina Pattern Jury Instructions defining actual and constructive possession. Actual possession means that you knowingly have something on or about your person.
If you have a pencil in your pocket, and you know about it, you actually possess it. Constructive possession means that you are aware of its presence and you have both the power and the intent to control its disposition or use. If you place that pencil in your backpack and then leave it at home while you go for a quick jog, you are still in constructive possession of the pencil. Why? Because you know that it is there and you have the power and intent to control the disposition or use of that pencil
Here is where it gets more tricky: Let’s pretend you are in a vehicle or your home and someone else has brought marijuana into it. Now the questions start to become whether you had any knowledge of what the other person brought in AND whether you had both the power and intent to control the disposition or use of the marijuana. Certainly you don’t have the intent to control everything that a house guest or passenger brings into your home or car. Your friend might show you the cool new pair of shoes he has on when he comes to visit, but that doesn’t mean that you are in possession of his shoes just because you are aware that they are in your house. This defense is very fact-specific and often works well when you remember that you have the right to remain silent.
Call Brennan Aberle or Jennifer Connolly at 336-900-5452 if you have been charged with possession of marijuana, any drug, or a weapon to learn more about whether you might have a defense in your possession case.