marijuana

Fairfax marijuana lawyer on the stark contrast between strict Virginia pot laws versus liberal marijuana laws in the neighboring northern jurisdictions. Virginia is one of the strictest states for marijuana law. How much longer can Virginia keep up such an anti-marijuana regime with its governor...

Police misconduct needs to be publicized. As a Fairfax, Virginia, criminal lawyer, I know that letting police abuse remain in the shadows will perpetuate such abuse. Bringing it to the light of day enables public scrutiny to reduce police misconduct.

Marijuana decriminalization and legalization are near and dear to my heart both as a Fairfax criminal lawyer and as a civil libertarian. The sky does not fall with marijuana decriminalization

Virginia's government drug chemist lab is more backlogged than ever before, as confirmed in its August 16, 2017, memorandum here  That trend does not seem like it will be reversing any time soon.

Virginia 251 dispositions for drug and marijuana possession are not necessarily the panacea that numerous police, prosecutor and judges elevate them to be. Talk is abuzz about a July 1, 2017, Virginia law change that no longer requires a judge to suspend one's driving privileges for...

Praised be the judges who speak out against the drug war. Senior federal trial Judge Mark W. Bennett (N.D. Ia.) publicly admits feeling "greatly conflicted about my role in the 'war on drugs.'" (See also here.) Fourth Circuit senior Judge Andre Davis Jon Katz,...

Ermias Samson stands convicted of felonious possession with intent to sell marijuana under Virginia Code§ 18.2-248.1(a)(2), after his trial lawyer unsuccessfully sought to introduce into evidence the certificate of analysis from Virginia's Department of Forensic Science showing that it was not Samson's fingerprints on...

Each year, the relevant dialogue about marijuana legalization moves even further as a serious dialogue rather than anything susceptible to being portrayed as stoners' folly. Worldwide each year, marijuana becomes more accepted for medicinal purposes and more widely legalized and decriminalized for recreational purposes. April...

Using police drug sniffing dogs is fraught with unreliability. as further addressed here, here, and here. Despite this unreliability, Virginia law poses substantial hurdles to a criminal defendant's obtaining by a records subpoena data about the training and performance of the case's drug dog. Fortunately...

Even though a Virginia 251 disposition (enabling dismissal of a first-time drug possession case after successful probation completion) can be a Trojan Horse, a 251 ordinarily is preferable to a conviction. Recently, the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate made efforts to convert mandatory...