Los Angeles rapper Snoop Dog was recently arrested in a Texas border town after his tour bus was stopped and drug-sniffing dogs alerted authorities to drugs onboard, the Associated Press reports.
Charges of marijuana in Los Angeles have been complicated in the last 15 years since voters passed laws to enable Californians to legally produce, sell and use marijuana for medical purposes. As part of marijuana reform in California, possessing an ounce or less of marijuana has been reduced to an infraction.
But our Los Angeles marijuana defense lawyers also recognize that many law enforcement officers haven't given medical marijuana users the type of respect given to people who have prescriptions for pain killers in pill form. In fact, statistics have shown that prescription drug abuse is one of the most widespread crime facing our country, yet medical marijuana users, distributors and cultivators are being pressured.
In this case, Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was arrested at the sierra Blanca highway checkpoint. He was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia after officers found a prescription bottle with marijuana joints in it in a trashcan in the back of the bus. In sum, 0.13 pounds of marijuana was found.
Border patrol agents said a drug-sniffing dog smelled marijuana coming from the bus and officers ordered everyone off so the dog could sniff around. Broadus admitted the drug was his and received a citation before being released.
Even though Snoop Dogg says he has a legal license in California to smoke marijuana for migraines and blurred vision, Texas officials have a zero tolerance policy on drugs. So, officials there say his medical marijuana identification card means nothing.
This is sometimes a problem for people who travel out of state but who, in California, legally can use the drug. For a cancer patient who relies on marijuana as a pain killer instead of more expensive pain pills and travels out of California, their routine is thrown off. Or, they attempt to continue their routine and are stuck facing criminal charges.
Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys understand this is a dilemma for many Californians and we are dedicated to helping in any way we can. California's laws, while enable some people to legally possess marijuana, are also designed to punish those who have the drug and aren't permitted to use it.
According to the California Code, marijuana possession charges typically are considered misdemeanors, but it largely depends on the amount and where it is located. For instance, more than an ounce can be filed as a misdemeanor and send a person to jail for up to six months. But inducing a minor to smoke marijuana can be a felony punishable by 3 to 7 years in prison.
Cultivation, sale and trafficking of marijuana can all be punished as felonies with possible jail or prison sentences of up to seven years, making for major charges. If a person is designated and allowed by state law to cultivate or sell medical marijuana, the charges likely don't apply. But because the state's marijuana laws conflict with federal drug laws, there is always the threat of charges on the federal level as well.
If you need to speak with a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, contact the Law Offices of Stephen G. Rodriguez and Associates at 213-223-2173 for a free consultation.
More Blog Entries:
Immigration Status at Risk in Criminal Cases, as Shown in Moncrieffe v. Holder, Jr.: November 16, 2011
