Possession of Medical Marijuana Green Cove Springs FL
If you are a qualified medical marijuana patient in a medical marijuana permissive state such as California and you are detained or stopped by a police officer for either possession or use of marijuana, you should know your legal rights as a qualified medical marijuana patient.
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Possession of Medical Marijuana
If you are a qualified medical marijuana patient in a medical marijuana permissive state such as California and you are detained or stopped by a police officer for either possession or use of marijuana, you should know your legal rights as a qualified medical marijuana patient.
Golden rule: be respectful to the officer and have your original medical marijuana identification card and doctor’s written recommendation on your person, available to present to the officer. While there is no guarantee that you will avoid arrest, you will have caused a written record to be made of your legal defense as a qualified medical marijuana patient along with your physician’s statement and recommendation of medical use. This will go a long way in support of your legal defense and will likely prevent formal charges from being filed against you, so long as you are in a medical marijuana permissive-use state.
Make sure you doctor’s recommendation is current. Most recommendations are good for a period of six-months to one-year. Calendar the date that your recommendation will expire and make sure you are always carrying a current and original recommendation and ID card with you. An expired recommendation will likely not be of help to you. Also, when possessing your medicine for personal medical use, make sure you never give the false impression that you are selling marijuana. In this regard, never carry a scale with you or in your car. Do not have your medicine in separate bags. It is recommended that you keep your marijuana in your trunk – not your glove compartment. Limit the amount of money in your possession, since having a role of hundreds might suggest you were dealing the drug rather then possessing it for personal use. Always carry the minimal amount necessary.
In California, the medical marijuana defense consists of four elements: First, the medical use of marijuana has been recommended or approved by a licensed physician. Secondly, the physician has determined that the person’s health would benefit from its use in the treatment of an illness for which marijuana provides relief. Thirdly, the marijuana in your possession was for the personal medical use of a qualified patient. Finally, the quantity of marijuana and the form in which it was possessed is reasonably related to the patient’s current medical needs. Should all of these elements be proved, the court under California’s Compassionate Use Act (SB 420), will likely enter a dismissal in the defendant’s favor.
These rules however are not an adequate defense if you are caught driving under the influence of medical marijuana. In all states including permissive use states, it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol including legal-use medical marijuana. This should not be surprising, since all states make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of any drug, whether recommended by a physician or not, if that drug causes the impairment of the drivers ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
A problem for law enforcement is that traces of marijuana can be detected in the body for as much as thirty days after its original use. This means that a person may submit to a blood or urine test at the request of law enforcement and test positive for marijuana even though the driver had not used marijuana for days or even weeks.
California law for example, like most other states, makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle if the driver was under the influence “at the time” of the subject driving. The good news for the defendant in these types of cases, is that most states allow the jury to consider whether the marijuana traces found in the blood was from another day – perhaps even from another week. The prosecution may find it difficult to overcome this challenge when the prosecutor’s case is based mostly or solely on a positive blood or urine test.
For information on state and federal marijuana laws and penalties visit GotTrouble.com
Golden rule: be respectful to the officer and have your original medical marijuana identification card and doctor’s written recommendation on your person, available to present to the officer. While there is no guarantee that you will avoid arrest, you will have caused a written record to be made of your legal defense as a qualified medical marijuana patient along with your physician’s statement and recommendation of medical use. This will go a long way in support of your legal defense and will likely prevent formal charges from being filed against you, so long as you are in a medical marijuana permissive-use state.
Make sure you doctor’s recommendation is current. Most recommendations are good for a period of six-months to one-year. Calendar the date that your recommendation will expire and make sure you are always carrying a current and original recommendation and ID card with you. An expired recommendation will likely not be of help to you. Also, when possessing your medicine for personal medical use, make sure you never give the false impression that you are selling marijuana. In this regard, never carry a scale with you or in your car. Do not have your medicine in separate bags. It is recommended that you keep your marijuana in your trunk – not your glove compartment. Limit the amount of money in your possession, since having a role of hundreds might suggest you were dealing the drug rather then possessing it for personal use. Always carry the minimal amount necessary.
In California, the medical marijuana defense consists of four elements: First, the medical use of marijuana has been recommended or approved by a licensed physician. Secondly, the physician has determined that the person’s health would benefit from its use in the treatment of an illness for which marijuana provides relief. Thirdly, the marijuana in your possession was for the personal medical use of a qualified patient. Finally, the quantity of marijuana and the form in which it was possessed is reasonably related to the patient’s current medical needs. Should all of these elements be proved, the court under California’s Compassionate Use Act (SB 420), will likely enter a dismissal in the defendant’s favor.
These rules however are not an adequate defense if you are caught driving under the influence of medical marijuana. In all states including permissive use states, it is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol including legal-use medical marijuana. This should not be surprising, since all states make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of any drug, whether recommended by a physician or not, if that drug causes the impairment of the drivers ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
A problem for law enforcement is that traces of marijuana can be detected in the body for as much as thirty days after its original use. This means that a person may submit to a blood or urine test at the request of law enforcement and test positive for marijuana even though the driver had not used marijuana for days or even weeks.
California law for example, like most other states, makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle if the driver was under the influence “at the time” of the subject driving. The good news for the defendant in these types of cases, is that most states allow the jury to consider whether the marijuana traces found in the blood was from another day – perhaps even from another week. The prosecution may find it difficult to overcome this challenge when the prosecutor’s case is based mostly or solely on a positive blood or urine test.
For information on state and federal marijuana laws and penalties visit GotTrouble.com
