Drugs

Image from public domain. LSD once was lawful earlier in the Sixties. Now it is not. K2/Spice remains lawful in the majority of states, but Virginia just added itself today to the list of states outlawing it. D.C. police have threatened crackdowns on K2/Spice stores. Although LSD...

This week, Virginia’s intermediate appellate court detailed the totality of circumstances to consider in determining whether probable cause exists to arrest and search for drugs, after witnessing a hand-to-hand transaction. Powell v. Virginia, ___ Va. App. ___ (Nov. 3, 2010). The court’s reasons for finding probable cause to search Powell are...

Virginia marijuana defendants in some Virginia District courtrooms constitute a parade of unrepresented people on their first court date. As a Fairfax criminal lawyer, I know that word has gotten out that if a marijuana possession defendant has no relevant prior convictions, s/he can save...

Although drug possession consists of knowledge, dominion and control over the drugs, that does not automatically prevent a person from being arrested, prosecuted and convicted for being in the knowing presence of drugs without having any other involvement with them. Last Friday, Maryland’s highest court,...

DEA image in the public domain. Can humans detect unburnt cocaine odor? The Maryland Court of Special Appeals said in 2003 it is “scientifically impossible that the confiscated drug could be detected because the cocaine seized and the caffeine with which it was cut had no detectible odor.”...

Last September, I blogged about efforts in the United States House of Representatives to eliminate bars to federal financial aid for simple drug possession convictions. My recent check on Congress’s Thomas website showed that the measure passed the House of Representatives and was referred to...

Image from public domain. In Virginia, so long as one-half ounce or less is involved, distribution and possession with intent to distribute marijuana is only punishable as a misdemeanor rather than as a felony. Va. Code § 18.2-248.1. What happens, then, if the police catch...

Virginia has a statute allowing marijuana field testing testimony into evidence: “In any trial for a violation of § 18.2-250.1, any law-enforcement officer shall be permitted to testify as to the results of any marijuana field test approved as accurate and reliable by the Department...

On a recent criminal defense lawyers’ listserv thread, a colleague recommended James Shellow’s Cross Examination of the Analyst in Drug Prosecutions (Lexis-Nexis). My colleague who posted on Shellow’s above-listed treatise points out that he was a chemist before going to law school. Interestingly, Justice Scalia references Shellow, as...

Image from public domain. Recently, I spoke about marijuana’s safety and marijuana laws with a forensic chemist who typically testifies for the criminal defense side. He believes very strongly in keeping marijuana illegal — even for medicinal use — and that its benefits are far outweighed...