Drug possession

Eric Brian Johnson

Under federal law and the laws of every state, it is a crime to possess marijuana. In order to convict a person of possession, most states require that the prosecution prove three things (known as the “elements” of the crime: 1) the act of possession: that the person had physical possession and control over the marijuana. 2) knowledge: that the person knew that he or she possessed the marijuana, i.e., knew of its presence. 3) useable amount: that there was sufficient amount of marijuana to use as a controlled substance. If the prosecution fails to prove even one of these “elements” the correct verdict is 'not guilty' of possessing marijuana.

Since 1996, twelve states have legalized medical marijuana use: AK, CA, CO, HI, ME, MT, NV, NM, OR, RI, VT, and WA. However, these laws allow such ‘medical’ usage only under clearly defined qualification(s) and restriction(s) and consequently a careful reading of and compliance with the statutory requirements is necessary. Further, federal law restricting such ‘medical’ usage may arguably conflict with these laws and override it.

Timothy A. Siler

In general the answer is "NO" it is not OK to keep small amounts of pot for personal use. Under federal law and the laws of every state, it is a crime to possess marijuana. In order to convict a person of possession, most states require that (1) the person had physical possession and control over the marijuana. (2) That the person knew that he or she possessed the marijuana, i.e., knew of its presence. and (3) that the substance found was actually marijuana. If the prosecution fails to prove these “elements” the correct verdict is 'not guilty' of possessing marijuana. While some states have legalized various forms of
medical marijuana use such ‘medical’ usage is authorized under statutory defined qualification(s) and/or restriction(s) which often are subject to discretionary judicial interpretations. Also, federal laws restricting such ‘medical’ usage may conflict with these laws and override it.

Alexander Thomas Henderson

In reviewing the two above answers it is fairly clear that both attorneys are working from the same source document. Either they are co-authors or one of them is violating the copyright of the other or both are violating the copyright of someone else assuming that one or both of them does not have a copyright holder's permission to create a derivative work on this website. Our profession has a poor reputation for precisely this type of conduct!. Gentlemen, if you are going to cut and paste from some other work and hold it out as your own then you might at least consider reading the one other answer so that your malfeasance or appearance thereof is not quite so obvious to the lay public!

Joshua G. Schiffer

In Georgia the posession of Marijuana is either a State Misdemeanor or a Felony depending on the amount. For less than one ounce it is a midemeanor, more than an ounce will fall into one of a few felonies, depending on factors such as amount and packaging, that include trafficking, simple posession and posession with intent to distribute.