Drug possession

Gurjit S Pandher

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (“PDP”) is a simple misdemeanor in Washington not a felony. A simple misdemeanor has a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1000.00 fine; that is the MAXIMUM penalty and not necessarily what you may be sentenced if you are found guilty of this crime. Unfortunately, the first conviction for PDP requires a sentence of not less than 24 hours and a fine of not less than $250.00. The jail time can only be converted to community service, if the Court makes a specific finding that either the mental or physical well-being of the defendant is a substantial risk, or that the local jail is overcrowed.
Drug Paraphernalia is defined as: “all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance.” RCW 69.50.102. The prosecuting authority would have to prove that the pipe you possessed fell within this definition. Further, if you did in fact signal, then the Drug Paraphernalia may be suppressed because the stop was an illegal stop. If suppressed, then charges would be dismissed. You should contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss the facts of this stop and to determine the strength of case.

Robert S. McKay

The previous answer to this question in this section is incorrect; THERE IS NOT WASHINGTON STATE LAW PROHIBITING THE MERE POSSESSION OF DRUG PARAPHRENALIA!!. Period. There is a substantial body of caselaw from the Washington Supreme Court to this effect. The statute which is mentioned in the other answer to this question applies only to the "use" of paraphrenalia, and that "use" must actually be observed by the police officer in order to make an arrest, since a misdemeanor must almost always be committed in the presence of the officer to make an arrest under RCW Title 10. The minimum penalties of a mandatory day in jail and a $250 fine referred to in the previous answers do not apply, since possession of paraphrenalia is NOT A CRIME under RCW 69.50. My learned colleague apparently does not understand the law in this area.

However, some counties and cities have made possession of drug paraphrenalia a crime under their county codes or city ordinances. These laws apply only in those jurisdictions, and do not necessarily carry a mandatory minimum penalty. For example, the Snohomish County Criminal Code has a law prohibiting possession of drug paraphrenalia, but there is no mandatory jail time nor a minimum fine; it is a simple misdemeanor, with penalties up to 90 days in jail and a maximum $500 fine.

Alexander Thomas Henderson

The Officer I presume told you that he/she stopped you for failing to signal before making a turn. You state that you "did it". In California it is required that your failure to signal have an impact on other traffic before you can be cited for failing to signal. If your jurisdiction has a similar rule and there was, in fact, no other traffic affected by your turn, then the officer had no probable cause to stop your vehicle and issue a citation. Any observations made during that stop would then be the product of an unreasonable seizure of your person and vehicle in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the charges would be dismissed. As a practical matter the Officer, once aware of this requirement, will probably testify that there was other traffic whether or not this is true. The lesson here is be wary before stating "I did it" when what you did might not be unlawful.

Joshua G. Schiffer

This is an interesting case in Georgia. The officer argueably has probable cause for pulling you over (however it is very weak) and the officer had probable cause for asking you questions about drugs etc. when they viewed the pipe. However the mere posession of the pipe may or may not lead to serious issues depending on what jurisdiction you are in and, more importantly, what prosecutor you have. The law on the books is O.C.G.A section 16-13-1 and it is still valid however I have spoken with several judges who feel that the law is un-constitutional and in my experience as an attorney most times this charge is dismissed. At the same time if you have a zealous prosecutor they can test residue etc. and proceed on a simple posession basis.

Philip Andrew Holloway

It seems from the question that you may have been charged with drug posession based upon residue left in the pipe. If that is the case, your state's law will determine the exact nature and severity of the charge. In some states, even trace amounts of certain substances, such as cocaine for example, is a felony. Other substances such as marijuana may be a misdemeanor. You should consult a qualified criminal defense lawyer in your area right away. Good luck!