Walk It Through: The Marijuana in the Console
A stop for a taillight, a smell, a request to search, a small bag of flower, and cash taken from the glovebox.
A driver is stopped for a broken taillight. The officer says the car smells like marijuana and asks to search.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A small amount found in a car. Driving under the influence of marijuana and possession with intent to deliver are separate offenses on other pages.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Controlled substanceA drug listed in the schedules of the controlled substances act, unlawful to possess unless obtained from or on a valid prescription of a practitioner.
- FelonyA crime that can be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than one year. Every other crime is a misdemeanor.
- Innocent ownerSomeone who held an interest in seized property and neither knew of nor consented to the drug violation, whose interest is not forfeited.