BUSTED in California (Need Advice)

[Illuminatty]

Well to make a long story short; I was pulled over for a broken tailight. THe cop saw an empty pill container in my backseat and claimed it was probable cause to search me. He found 2 oz's and wrote me a ticket.

On the NORML website is says I may face up to 6 months and $500 in fines.
Somehow I don't feel this is right. What should I do?
Also if I aqcuire my medical license before the court date will I be able to get off?

ANy advice would help. I'm not sure what to do.

 

[J842P]

Dude, I don't understand people in California. Do you guys realize how lucky you are for being able to carry anything under an ounce and only get a $100 ticket!?

You know what happens if I have that much pot on me here? I got to fucking jail.

But no, you guys have to carry more than an ounce.

Anyway, my advice would be to seek legal advice.

 

[Illuminatty]

What are you talking about man? I may be doing 6 months. THat affects the rest of my life, for 2 ounces of weed. That's ridiculous.

It's true that under an ounce may only be $100 fine. But wtf? 2 ounces and it becomes SERIOUS. This sucks man. I'm not lucky at all.

 

[Frust53]

Lol here we get a 180$ fine if we have anything over 5grams cuz its considered Selling lol you can easily smoke 5 grams for personal purposes in 1 day

 

[RooRman]

Get a lawyer. This way it will only end up costing you time, money, and aggravation instead of jail time.

In some states they will throw you in jail for possesing just a gram or two or even just paraphenalia, let alone 2 whole ounces. You got busted in the state with most lenient marijuana laws in the USA next to Nevada.

 

[Bud Dancer]

don't worry yes u can get ur medical license!!!!!!! i sure there is something that medical marijuana can help u with? get ur c-club card as soon as possible, anyways there are no records of u gettting a license since they give u back all the written work! best of luck man! If u say ur card was expired or u had to renew it and show the judge ur card, u might get off a little easier. My friend went thru this exact same thing and all he did was get his medical card (should of got it sooner) and all he got was a fine and a drivers license suspension.

 

[DankCloset]

pay the fuckin ticket and let the cops forget ur name.

if anything when you go to court bring ur medical records with what claims u need weed for. that iam sure might help u out. for saying it is medical. how old are you?

 

[Bud Dancer]

ticket 4 2oz with no card! u might go to jail 4 a couple of months man.... my friends went to redwood city where scott peterson was 4 a minute. all he had was a half oz. in a couple of bags... they might get u with intent to sell if u had 2oz and some cash on u. u don't know how some of those judges work!

 

[Bud Dancer]

not every1 is seriously ill and needs to be to obtain a card. not saying that he should think of a problem, but maybe he already has 1 and didn't get a card because of the cost or finding the right doctor or info. anyways y let the gov. f u over just 4 some weed, if u don't believe that they set up these medical programs to also prevent from sending people to jail all the time then i don't know... every1 smokes out here and if u do most likely u have a c-club card and trust me that not every1 is sick. that's how it goes sorry to break it to u. i know a bunch of doctors that will just write u up 4 the $. i know its wrong but hey what can u do.

 

[J842P]

What are you talking about man? I may be doing 6 months. THat affects the rest of my life, for 2 ounces of weed. That's ridiculous.

It's true that under an ounce may only be $100 fine. But wtf? 2 ounces and it becomes SERIOUS. This sucks man. I'm not lucky at all.

Dude, no offense but you should've known, that's all I'm saying.
Look, I'm not trying to be a dick, but you have to understand that ANY amount of pot and I GO TO JAIL FOR 30 DAYS plus a $500 dollar fine, and any subsequent offense I go for a fucking year plus a $2500 fine, so don't bitch about California's laws, you guys have some of the best in the nation.

Now, if you read the law it says:

Possession of greater than 28.5 grams is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.

The emphasis was mine. You may not get 6 months, hell, you may not get any prison time, but I have no idea because I'm not a lawyer. I'll repeat, SEEK LEGAL ADVICE (i.e. a lawyer). Look at the NORML website, they have a bunch of phone numbers of lawyers that know about pot cases for your state.

 

[Bud Dancer]

SX i completely agree! but now a days instead of taking man-made drugs, u can use medical marijuana u know? i know it is crazy, but i too have a condition that allows me to use marijuana (bad disk lower back) and my cousin and friends runs a club also. i totally understand...
if he doesn't have a reason then he shouldnt get a card

 

[Illuminatty]

Wow, this blew way out of proportion. I do have legit medical reasons, and I do need medical marijuana. NOT to get me out of getting in trouble, but I was just asking to see if this would affect it in anyway. I was in no way trying to abuse the medical system.

Anyway. If I do get my card before my court date (because I really do need it) will it affect it in ANY way? I even told the officer I used marijuana for medical reasons, and though I did not have documentation at the time I will (hopefully) before my court date.

And just because my state's laws are more leniant than other states, that does not make me any luckier.

 

[hossua34]

Dude, no offense but you should've known, that's all I'm saying.
Look, I'm not trying to be a dick, but you have to understand that ANY amount of pot and I GO TO JAIL FOR 30 DAYS plus a $500 dollar fine, and any subsequent offense I go for a fucking year plus a $2500 fine, so don't bitch about California's laws, you guys have some of the best in the nation.

Dude, have you ever been arrested in VA for a gram or so and been sent away for a month? It virtually never happens that way - that's why that's the MAXIMUM sentence.

And, to the thread starter: get a lawyer who knows his drugs. Even if the empty pill bottle in your back seat wasn't yours, that is likely NOT probable cause for a search in any way. If the pills had been yours, and legal, there is no WAY the presence of their empty container in your back seat was probable cause for a search. Remember, it has to be a reasonable indication that a crime has occurred to be PC. Your empty prescription in the back seat is not that.

 

[Marek]

you, me and everyone else in california, ARE truly lucky...

not only do we have the only legal medical cannabis co-operatives, but even for folks that get busted without medical referrals the penalties are minor compared to the rest of the nation, in some states, travelling in a vehicle with 2 ounces of weed in the car, you would have been cuffed and thrown in jail right there on the spot, and serve as much as 10 years for trafficing, so you really need to relax and just get a good lawyer, ask him all these questions you are asking us, were not lawyers here

now, as to that subject, there is a dude in los angeles named bruce margolin (sp?) hes the main dude over at lanorml.org and probably the best lawyer in california to give you the advice you need, or reccomend someone

hope the best for you bro, just wanted to point out you and the rest of us ARE VERY VERY lucky for living in cali

 

[Stoner4Life]

As mentioned by previous posts get a lawyer refered by NORML. He'll know how and when to play the 'med' angle you'd mentioned.......best of luck and let us all know how it goes. I'm sure you're looking at an ACD, a conditional discharge. If you don't get busted again for a yr on same offense they will erase it from your record. Ask your lawyer about that specifically:smokin3:

 

[Illuminatty]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I'm going to seek a lawyer and schedule an appointment to get my med card ASAP. I guess I am lucky, I just don't believe it's fair to lock anyone up for possesion of marijuana.

Thanks again. I let you know how everything goes.

 

[Miss Indica]

Acquire your license before court and as soon as possible. If this is your first offense, remind your attorney of such as it may just land you with a big ticket and no jail sentence. I believe the jail sentence is the maximum sentence possible, so you probably won't be charged with that. None the less, if you weren't driving impaired and you can get a medical license, you should be alright. My complete and utter guess about what's going to happen based on the events of a few friends: You'll get six months to a year of probation with drug testing and you'll have to pay a $500 fine.

 

[Illuminatty]

Acquire your license before court and as soon as possible. If this is your first offense, remind your attorney of such as it may just land you with a big ticket and no jail sentence. I believe the jail sentence is the maximum sentence possible, so you probably won't be charged with that. None the less, if you weren't driving impaired and you can get a medical license, you should be alright. My complete and utter guess about what's going to happen based on the events of a few friends: You'll get six months to a year of probation with drug testing and you'll have to pay a $500 fine.

So I could face probation even with a medical card? That doesn't make any sense..


And chameleon140: I agree with you completely. How can it be fair to lock away people just for POSSESING a naturally growing plant. I even brought this up with the officer that charged me and he said:

 

[kb1026]

c'mon guys & girls we all know there is always one bad apple in the bunch.

I am a legit cardholder and have been fighting for a long time to legalize and still am. LA is trying to understand and they are trying to work with us if we keep on fighting this battle we can all win. But in all honesty we have to do things right not wrong. People that do it for just cause reasons should really grow up and think about what they are doing and how it could affect millions of people...

 

[RangerDanger]

The only way a med-mj defense will "work" is if you were diagnosed with whatever and prescribed marijuana BEFORE you got popped.
You aren't allowed to self-diagnose and prescribe marijuana for yourself.

2 oz. is small potato's. If I were you I'd forget about a lawyer, NOT WAIVE TIME, ask for a jury trial and petition the court for a court-appointed att'y and the right to act as your own co-council, and indicate to your att'y you intend to invoke a med-mj defense.
They HATE that and will bend over backwards to cut you a deal.
Never accept the first 2 deals they offer you. Each plea bargin will get sweeter.
You'll probably get offered a small fine and probation.
Unless you have a record. That makes all the difference.