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Whether you’re sentenced on a felony offense or misdemeanor offense in Colorado, your sentence is likely to include a period of probation (supervised). Many probationers have been frustrated for many years as the probation statute is broad, and many probation officers prohibited the use of marijuana entirely.
The law previously allowed probation to impose different conditions that would help the accused lead a law-abiding life. One of the common complaints of probationers is that they were not allowed to use marijuana for medical reasons.
The good news is that Colorado’s new law allows parolees and probationers to use medical pot, weed, or marijuana. Pay attention to the word ‘medicinal’ as it means all the difference between what’s legal and illegal when it comes to marijuana use. In May 2015, Governor Hickenlooper reviewed and signed the changes to marijuana-related law into effect.
Currently, the court of probation in Adams and Jefferson counties cannot prohibit the use or possession of medical marijuana as a mandatory condition of probation or parole. This is a relief to patients who desperately need weed for medical reasons such as pain management.
If you, the defendant, violate your probation terms, you are likely to face a probation revocation proceeding. Probation can be violated in two different ways. First is the technical violation, and the second the new law violation.
Generally, technical violations stem from your failure to comply with your probation’s specific conditions. Some of these failures include missed classes, monitored sobriety, inability to pay necessary fees, and other offenses. On the other hand, new law related probation violations occur when you, the defendant, are charged with a new crime while already serving an active probation period.
The good news is that the recent changes in Colorado’s probation statute allow medical marijuana use. This doesn’t constitute a technical violation or a new offense. Thus, it can’t be the basis of the revocation of probation. If you have been threatened with a probation revocation of proceedings because of a failed UAs and you have a valid medical marijuana license, it is essential to consult with a reliable criminal lawyer.
If you were previously convicted of a marijuana-related offense, you’ll be prohibited from using it on parole or probation. Other essential things that you must remember while using medical marijuana include;
Colorado HB 1267 applies to the use and possession of medical marijuana only. As such, recreational weed users who are on parole or probation are not protected under this law. It’s important to mention that the terms of parole or probation vary from person to person, and in most cases, recreational weed use is prohibited.
Suppose you are unaware of the specific terms of your parole or probation. In that case, you could find yourself in trouble if you just assume that the new law applies in every situation involving the use of recreational or medical marijuana. Violation of parole or probation terms might lead to severe ramifications like jail time or an extended period of probation. So, consult with an experienced attorney if you still have questions about your parole or probation.
Dasha Fincher spent three months in jail after two Georgia deputies said a field test of a blue substance found in her car turned up positive for methamphetamine. But it wasn’t meth. It was cotton candy.
While in jail she missed the birth of her twin grandchildren, could not help with her daughter’s miscarriage, and was refused medical care for a broken hand and ovarian cyst.
However, the substance in her car was not methamphetamine. In fact, it was not an illegal substance at all. It was cotton candy. But despite professing her innocence repeatedly to officers, Fincher was arrested for possession and trafficking of narcotics due to an incorrect field test.
She was then forced to wait in jail until the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had time to test the substance, as she could not pay her $1 million bail. When the GBI finally confirmed that the substance did not contain any narcotics, Ms. Fincher was still forced to wait almost two more weeks before she was released.
Now, she is suing Monroe County and the three officers involved for wrongful imprisonment and violation of her civil rights. Her lawsuit is also directed towards Sirchie Acquisition Company, the maker of the field kit that the deputies used to “test” the cotton candy.
Ms. Fincher hopes that her case can spark some changes within the justice system, especially in terms of drug testing and the length of time that was necessary for her release.
Hopefully, her case also changes the way in which the field test kits are used, as clearly, they are not the most reliable method for drug detection.
Generally, the field kits have a solution that changes color when certain drugs are placed inside. The problem is that dyed cotton candy or any other dyed substance can easily create a false positive. The Law Offices of Steven J Pisani specialize in DUI, traffic, and criminal defense.
If you have been accused of a drug crime, call our Denver office today for a free consultation at 303-635-6768.
CNN, Dakin Andone and AJ Willingham, November 27th, 2018
Link: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/27/us/cotton-candy-meth-dasha-fincher-trnd/index.html
The legalization of marijuana has swept across the country recently, gaining more and more traction with each passing day. That being said, it has not come without its share of problems. One such problem is intoxicated drivers on the road.
Cannabis has not been studied as extensively as other intoxicants and a common question is how long one must wait to drive after smoking? This problem has plagued researchers for a while now, as it is much harder to determine the degree of impairment caused by Marijuana than alcohol.
An individual may have THC in her/his system, but not have her/his ability to drive affected in the slightest. Conversely, another individual may have a very minute amount of THC present in her/his system and be completely unable to drive. Luckily, researchers at the University of California San Diego are conducting a new study aimed at answering how long someone must wait to drive after smoking. Participants will be asked to smoke marijuana and complete a driving simulator, as well as take a performance assessment on an iPad that is designed to measure the individual’s memory, attention, and motor control.
Hopefully the study can lead to answers regarding how THC affects an individual’s driving abilities, as well as how long it takes one to regain her/his normal mental faculties after consuming marijuana. This could then aid police officers in determining if a driver who had consumed marijuana was actually driving while impaired.
The Law Offices of Steven J Pisani specialize in DUI, traffic, and criminal defense. Call our Denver office today for a free consultation at 303-635-6768.
Newsweek, Kashmira Gander, July 16th, 2018
Apparently, one should not call the police if her/his illegal drugs are stolen. A self-described Florida drug dealer, found this out the hard way the other day when he called 911 to report a robbery.
When the police officers showed up he told the responding deputy that someone broke into his car and took some money and about a quarter ounce of cocaine.
The deputy then looked around the car and found some crack-cocaine and a crack pipe, and the reporting party was arrested on the spot. He is charged with possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and resisting arrest without violence, which is inevitably going to cost him far more than just the quarter ounce of cocaine.
We specialize in Colorado Drug Defense. Call our Denver office today for a free consultation at 303-635-6768.
NY Post, Associated Press, 7/19/2017
It is rarely beneficial to be overconfident when it comes to the law and our justice system. Aaron Carter, The less-successful brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, was recorded on camera bragging that he will never get a DUI just five days before the Georgia police pulled him over and arrested him on DUI and marijuana charges. His girlfriend, Madison Parker, was in the car with him at the time and was charged with possession of marijuana and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
Maybe the has-been pop star should have knocked on wood after he made such a bold claim. Or at least gotten somebody else to drive.
The Law Offices of Steven J Pisani specialize in DUI, traffic, and criminal defense.
Call our Denver office today for a free consultation at 303-635-6768. Page Six, Linda Massarella, 7/16/2017
In a recent letter sent to and published by The Washington Post, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions elaborated upon his plan to be tougher on drugs and drug offenders. Sessions blamed the United States’ supposedly rising rate in violent crime on the Justice Department’s increasingly relaxed approach to drug offenders and offenses.
According to Sessions, drug prosecutions have decreased from 2011 to 2016 by 23 percent, while the average sentence for a convicted drug offender has decreased 18 percent from 2009 to 2016. This is what he believes is causing the “disturbing trend that could reverse decades of progress,” as violent crime is rising across the country.
This rise in violent crime has made Sessions issue a memorandum to all federal prosecutors in which he authorizes prosecutors to charge offenses “as Congress intended.” This memorandum is supposed to allow prosecutors to apply the laws fairly while still exercising discretion, yet seems like it is meant more to punish minor drug offenders and minorities.
Sessions’ misguided efforts are due to his fear of this “crime surge” being an ongoing trend in America, and apparently this policy will improve minority neighborhoods and communities that are “disproportionately impacted by violent drug trafficking.” Yet, Sessions does not seem to want to address the root cause of the oppression faced by minority communities, and is instead content attacking minor drug offenders and users who he claims are “infecting their communities.”
Jeff Sessions and his “time-tested policy” are supposed to help, but will end up punishing small-time drug users as the United States punitive policies once again become the focus of our justice system.
Steven J. Pisani is a Denver Criminal Defense Attorney, Denver DUI Lawyer and Denver Criminal Defense Attorney.
The Cannabist, Jeff Sessions, June 19, 2017
