Possession Of Paraphernalia By A Minor

So last night, a friend and I were coming back to my house from another town. We decided to smoke on the way home, and while we had the sunroof open, that was about the only ventilation. So we get out stuff put away, and we're headed into town when I see a cop. My friend was going 35 in a 25, coasting down a hill. Like I said, he's from out of town and doesn't know the speed limits well. So anyway, this cop tails us for a block, and then pulls us over in front of the police station. He asks us why we were speeding and asks us to find the registration, but my friend couldn't find the papers on him. Boo. So the cop goes to run his license and asks me for ID, I have none on me. He asks us both to get out of the vehicle and asked if we had anything in the car. We deny it. They get out a K9 and search the car, I assume my friend consented to it. The dog signals, and I'm thinking, "Oh fffuuuucccckkk." So they say, "The dog has signaled, we know the weed is in the car, and we're going to search the car to find it. You guys can make this easy for yourself by confessing to where it is and we won't have to tear up your whole car looking for it."

My friend tells them that in his backpack, he has a little over an eighth (dumb decision on his part to have that much on him at one time), along with a hitter and a few other things. I tell them that in my purse, I have a grinder and a pipe, but no weed. They cuff my friend, give him his phone and give me my purse and phone, and take us back to the station.
My friend and I are both high as hell still. In fact, so high that I asked to hug one of the cops at one point. When I walked in, it smelled like lavender, I told the cop, "Mmm, it smells pretty good in here!" and he looked at me with the most irritated face and said, "Yep, and now it's going to smell like pot." Being high, I told him, "Ya know, I actually like the smell of pot." Probably should have kept my mouth shut lol. So anyway, they put my friend and I in a room and have me call my mom to come pick me up, and I guess they kept my friend overnight or something.

Sounds like I'll have to go to juvenile court (I'm 17, it was my friend's 19th birthday) and I think the cop said he wanted to charge me with first offense possession of paraphernalia by a minor. Not sure what the punishment will be for me?

So anyway, that was my first time getting caught with pot by a cop. Honestly, I'm feeling pretty relaxed about it. My friend pointed out that we were never read our rights and they interviewed me alone, without a parent. Not sure if either of those things will help us out much when we have to go to court lol.

 

i think anything less than an ounce or two is normally the same offense no matter how much it is. and i think paraphernalia is actually a bigger offense than that in most places.

the dumb decisions were to drive with any weed or paraphernalia in the first place, and especially to break any traffic laws while doing so. also not having the vehicle registration in a place where he can easily find it; if he made the whole thing easy for the cop it might have just come down to a simple speeding ticket.

seriously doubt it.

 

Oh yeah, I definitely agree that we shouldn't have had anything in the car or broken traffic laws- the thing is, my friend was from out of town and didn't know the speed limit. Still stupid though.

And yeah, I didn't think it would help any either. Sucky situation, but that's the risk ya take.

 

You're looking at doing hard time for this.











nah it shouldnt affect you to much since youre a juvenile.

 

Think about this way, you're part of the last generation to get a weed offense

Don't worry about it so much, it's gonna suck, but a lot of places don't care at all about marijuana offenses. They just want money from you

 

Always make sure you have the proper paperwork for the car you are in and always, always have ID on you silly girl.


"The dog has signaled, we know the weed is in the car, and we're going to search the car to find it. You guys can make this easy for yourself by confessing to where it is and we won't have to tear up your whole car looking for it." So if the dog signaled, why the need to tear up the car looking for it? Seems the dog would have gone straight to the back pack. Cops lie.

Yes, you should have kept your mouth shut...totally shut.


Every state has different laws, in the one I am in a minor would lose their DL or the ability to get one for a period of time, have to take a drug and alcohol course, do community service and pay a fine. Where I live....they aggravate teens to no end.

Don't be relaxed about being taken to jail gal. That's not something to be cool with. Use this a learning experience.

 

never ever drive with drugs of any kind in the car ... and if you do, definitely dont speed and do it during the busiest part of the day so that you dint stand out. dont smoke in ur car, if u cant resist instant gratification then you shouldnt be smoking weed in the first place. instant gratification is a quick path to making poor decisions and ending up in prison with a record that ruins your life forever, even after youve done your time.

 

A good lawyer (looking at 3-5k to buy one minimum) could work the angle of you being under age and questioned without being read rights. But I would guess you were not technically arrested even though you were hand cuffed. You can be "detained" for a brief period of time without being charged with anything or arrested. And it's likely the way you were questioned did not break any laws especially if you consented to it. Cops often lead you to believe that you must.

I guarantee the cop did not know there was weed in the car until you told him. The dog will indicate the same for any drug the cop simply made an educated guess because weed is the most common drug. Perhaps he smelled something but smell is not acceptable proff in a cout of law as it can not be proven one way or the other. And had your friend said no with no dog the cop would not have been able to search the car. I have successfully denied a cop before. He god really mad and said I did not know the law but I did, he did not look in my car. He was able to search the car with or without consent because of the dog indicating. Dogs are a dirty trick, even if you did not have drugs the cop would have said the dog indicated. It is not hard to make them do it especially if you are the one who trained them.

I don't think an attorney is worth it in this situation personally. The deal you get will not improve enough to justify the cost. The thing you need to worry about is if the paraphernalia has any resin. Without that that pipe is NOT paraphernalia as it can not be proven it was used for an illegal drug. Simply having a bong or pipe is not enough. But again that is something you would need a lawyer to argue. The cop knows you won't do that. I suppose since the pipe and weed were together it helps their argument.

 

It would have been easier on both of ya had you been adults, probably just a misdemeanor ticket. It's the underage thing that's gonna get ya.



Never, ever consent to a search...make them work for it. And don't tell the cops a thing, they will try and make you believe it will be easier on you if you do...that is a lie. Be respectful, but you do not have to answer anything other than telling them who you are. And asking them "Am I free to go?"

 

^^^This!

And many times, a cop will tell you the dog signaled when it didn't. Dogs are trained to signal two ways. Scratching at your car and things like that are actions the cop can prompt the dog to do but it isn't signaling. Depending on its training, the dog will either go bat-shit crazy and attempt to get to the drugs or it will simply sit down when it detects drugs. They're counting on you not knowing how the dogs really signal. You may also notice that when the dog supposedly "signals" (when the cop is lying) it will be in a place that is obscured from the patrol car camera.

I will never let the cops search my car under any circumstances...no matter what they say....and I never even have a reason to be concerned with them finding anything. It's the principle of it.

 

What did your mom say about the whole thing? Are you grounded?

Sucks you have to go to court, but you might have a case because they didn't read you your rights, and they interviewed you alone. You should have been given a chance to call a lawyer.

 

unless she asked for that chance and she denied it, i don't think she has a case. i'm pretty sure they can ask her as many questions as they want if she keeps answering.

 

What state did this occur! Is your friend looking at much time? Some states really suck at weed, hard time for petty shit.

Legalize!

 

You're absolutely right.

I wouldn't answer any questions without a lawyer present. She is 17 thought, and was stoned out of her mind. Probably didn't know any better.

 

I live in her state. She'll be fine. Maybe a little probation for her and her friend...some fines...etc. Just bullshit to deal with. Her record will probably be expunged when she turns 18. Her friend won't be so lucky but he may be able to transfer his probation to a local office depending on where he lives. But...that isn't always a great idea. Sometimes the probation system in one place is much harsher than the place you were convicted.

 

I wouldn't talk to them even if there was a lawyer present. You should never talk to the cops...no matter what they say. The only thing they are interested in is collecting information to convict you. Even if you're very smart...and innocent....you can easily make a small discrepancy here or there which will make them think you're lying. The investigators job is to build a case.....not prove your innocence. Your lawyers job is to defend your presumed innocence and any lawyer who would tell you to just answer a few preliminary questions should be fired. I can provide a very good link of a law professor and a retired veteran detective agreeing 100% on this. Do not talk to cops.

 

yeah i'm not trying to call her out on it or anything, i probably would have done the same thing if i were her. just saying that she can't really use that as a legal defense.

 

I guess what I meant to say was that I'd call a lawyer, who would know how to handle the situation, and advise me as to what to do.

 

She is a minor anyways, so the consequences probably won't be all that severe. The laws in my city are so lax when it comes to weed, but a minor busted for possession while operating a motor vehicle would probably lose their license for several months at least.

 

Totally got ya. I was just running with a point just a bit.