If you've been arrested for possession of marijuana, you are most likely worried about what impact this is going to have on your future - especially your FREEDOM. You may not have thought possession of a small amount of pot was a big deal. You found out the hard way that Texas takes drug cases seriously, and possession of even a small amount of maijuana can land you in jail.
Even though possession of small amounts of marijuana is legal in many places, its still against the law in Texas. No matter what you may think about the wisdom of that, it is not something you should take seriously. Possession of any amount of marijuana is still a crime in Texas, and is something that can land you in jail.
Many people also think THC is no different from marijuana. While THC is the active ingredient in marijuana, possession is far more serious. POSSESSION OF ANY AMOUNT OF THC IS A FELONY OFFENSE. That means you can end up with a felony conviction for having a a few gummies! What's worse is that the penalty ranges are determined by the total amount of whatever the THC is in, and not the amount of THC that is present. Since things like gummies and other edibles have some weight, you can easily end up with a second or third degree felony
Too often people don't take this seriously, and believe it is something you can handle yourself. If you have no prior record, you are probably going to get probation. Some people see that, and wonder why they should waste money on a lawyer. There are at least two reasons for that.
First, if accept an offer of regular probation on a marijuana charge, your driver's license is going to be suspended. Possession of marijuana is still a "drug charge", which triggers an automatic license suspension. By the time you realize that - which is when you get your notice from DPS, it's too late to do anything about it. There is a way around that, which is to be placed on deferred adjudication instead of regular probation. Unless you have a lawyer though, you probably aren't going to know to ask for that.
The same goes for possession of THC. What's worse, is that it's a felony conviction which will follow you around the rest of your life.
Second, there are ways to get the charge dismissed, so you don't even end up on probation. In McLennna County, there is a pre-trial diversion program. Is this is your first offense, there's a chance you can get accepted into the program, which will mean the charge will be dismissed. There are conditions attached to that, but the benefits far outweigh the negatives. The same program exists in some of the surrounding counties, such as Bell, Falls and Bosque.
Finally, you might have a defense. Marijuana charges usually come out of some type of encounter with police like a traffic stop. If the police didn't have a legal reason to stop you in the first place, whatever they found as a result of that stop must be thrown out.
Your future is too important to gamble with. Don't make your one mistake worse by not taking it seriously. Hire a lawyer - you'll be sorry later if you don't.
Watch this video to learn how to Contest Police Search.
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