Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Any police officer who sees a driver or passenger smoking marijuana in a motor vehicle can stop the vehicle and potentially issue a citation.
Marijuana for adults over the age of 21 becomes broadly legal in Massachusetts on Dec. 15. But under the new law, the use of marijuana in public remains illegal.
"Where the legalization comes into effect is using marijuana in private places or possessing marijuana in private places," Adam Fine, an attorney who helped craft the new law, told MassLive.com.
You can possess marijuana -- up to an ounce outside your primary residence -- in a motor vehicle, but it has to be in a sealed container, or secured in a vehicle's trunk or locked glove compartment.
"You want to be careful there, that it's locked. If it's an open container of any kind, and that means if the marijuana package is open and it looks like it's used in any way, then it needs to be in your trunk or in your locked glove compartment," Fine said.
"That's a safer place to store the marijuana anyway," he continued. "So you will be able to transport marijuana. But in terms of use, you're still not going to be able to use marijuana in public."
Basically, it's similar to the prohibition on having an "open container," whether or not the car is moving.
Violations carry a civil penalty of up to $500.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
At the state level, Massachusetts may have legalized marijuana but operating a vehicle under the influence (OUI) of marijuana is still prohibited.
"Though the new law makes consumption of marijuana broadly legal for individuals over 21, evidence of recent marijuana consumption will remain admissible in OUI prosecutions, much as evidence that a defendant was seen drinking alcohol in a bar shortly before his motor vehicle stop is admissible in an OUI-Liquor prosecution," a memo released by Gov. Charlie Baker's public safety chief, Dan Bennett, said Wednesday.
Police can take as evidence like a partially burned "roach" in a car's ashtray "just as they may appropriately seize an empty beer can from the floorboards of an OUI-Liquor suspect's vehicle as evidence of recent alcohol consumption," the memo added.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Now That Marijuana Is Legal In Massachusetts, Can You Smoke It In Your Car?
Author: Gintautas Dumcius
Contact: 413-731-1036
Photo Credit: Brennen Linsley
Website: MassLive
Marijuana for adults over the age of 21 becomes broadly legal in Massachusetts on Dec. 15. But under the new law, the use of marijuana in public remains illegal.
"Where the legalization comes into effect is using marijuana in private places or possessing marijuana in private places," Adam Fine, an attorney who helped craft the new law, told MassLive.com.
You can possess marijuana -- up to an ounce outside your primary residence -- in a motor vehicle, but it has to be in a sealed container, or secured in a vehicle's trunk or locked glove compartment.
"You want to be careful there, that it's locked. If it's an open container of any kind, and that means if the marijuana package is open and it looks like it's used in any way, then it needs to be in your trunk or in your locked glove compartment," Fine said.
"That's a safer place to store the marijuana anyway," he continued. "So you will be able to transport marijuana. But in terms of use, you're still not going to be able to use marijuana in public."
Basically, it's similar to the prohibition on having an "open container," whether or not the car is moving.
Violations carry a civil penalty of up to $500.
Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
At the state level, Massachusetts may have legalized marijuana but operating a vehicle under the influence (OUI) of marijuana is still prohibited.
"Though the new law makes consumption of marijuana broadly legal for individuals over 21, evidence of recent marijuana consumption will remain admissible in OUI prosecutions, much as evidence that a defendant was seen drinking alcohol in a bar shortly before his motor vehicle stop is admissible in an OUI-Liquor prosecution," a memo released by Gov. Charlie Baker's public safety chief, Dan Bennett, said Wednesday.
Police can take as evidence like a partially burned "roach" in a car's ashtray "just as they may appropriately seize an empty beer can from the floorboards of an OUI-Liquor suspect's vehicle as evidence of recent alcohol consumption," the memo added.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Now That Marijuana Is Legal In Massachusetts, Can You Smoke It In Your Car?
Author: Gintautas Dumcius
Contact: 413-731-1036
Photo Credit: Brennen Linsley
Website: MassLive
