Illegal Transport

[wisco420]

I've been a patient since 2011 n I had a police encounter when leaving the bar with some friends.. he took my bag of unusable marijuana n said i may or may not receive a letter for court.. almost two months later I'm being charged with illegal transportation of medical marijuana.. n they said I need an expert in horticulture to say that it takes 5 to 7 days to dry and up to 120 days of curing.. how the hell can i find someone like that? Shouldn't it be there issue? what happened to them proving my guilty n not me proving innocence.. innocent until proven guilty I thought? My court appointed attorney wont even file a motion of dismissal until I find an expert... N my trial by jury is November 21st.. what can I do someone please any suggestions would be great

[Wings123]

I am sorry to hear of your trouble....do you mind letting us know what city this was in? I do not understand the transportation law, it says clear as day in the act that medical use means transportation etc. Good luck, I would like to know who approves this person as an expert? Can anyone claim to be an expert and do this? What is needed to qualify as an expert in the eyes of the court as far as a mmj plant expert? Again good luck!

[Kingdiamond]

Earlier this year the law was changed to require that your medicine not be readily accessible from the passenger area of your vehicle .

[Chauncy Gardner]

What was it that you were transporting? Fresh, undried flowers? What was it about the marijuana that made it "unusable"? Have you asked the court what kind of person would meet their definition of "an expert in (marijuana) horticulture"? Will they accept information from the internet? There is a lot of marijuana horticulture info on the internet. Maybe they would accept a book by Jorge Cervantes who is widely considered to be an expert on marijuana horticulture.

 

If the court won't accept the offerings you make to meet their requirements, maybe you can have all of the above admitted as evidence in your trial.

 

Remember, most of the people ID'd as "your peers" who will be serving on the jury will be reasonable people who may very well call "bullshite" to the prosecutors case against you.

 

Edited to add:

 

Just because they set your trial date for November doesn't mean that the trial will actually take place on that date. Apparently they are usually delayed many, many, many, many,many, many... times. I think you may be lucky to get to trial in 3 years. By that time the evidence in your case may be reduced to a moldy pile of vegetation or a dried up pile of stuff that may not even test positive for THC.

Edited September 19, 2013 by Chauncy Gardner

[t-pain]

hb4856 doesnt affect patients.

 

if your lawyer wont file a sec8 , fire him and get a new lawyer. tell the judge your lawyer isnt helping.

you dont have to prove anything usable vs unusable with a section8.

 

still, maybe able to get a sec4 if you prove very simply how people vs koon invalidates hb4856 aka the marijuana transport law.

 

simply:

MMMA says you can transport

MMMA says any laws inconsistent with MMMA are invalid

hb4856 limits transport, therefor its inconsistent.

 

this is not legal advice. i am no lawyer. dont take a plea.

[Kingdiamond]

Doesn't affect patients?

 

To my knowledge this affects everyone in the program but like you said this is not legal advice but its how I read  the law.

[t-pain]

neither one of us is correct until someone calls the attorney general and asks him.

 

so who is going to call him tomorrow and ask about this issue?

[wisco420]

Tuscola county.... It was part of a plant I broke in my room. I was hanging out with my buddies at the bar n rode home with them.. we got pulled over n they took my medicine... It was about 48 hrs drying maybe maybe bowlable but doubt it.. I put it in a bag in my pocket til I had a chance to take it home n dry it... N now I'm being charged with crap! This lawyer is about garbage as well.. he didn't even let me go in with him at the pre trial conference I just sat in the lobby.. he gave me his card and number n told me to call him later in the week.. I thought I was going to be dismissed.. the next day the jury trial papers come in.. I have no clue what they talked about for all I know they're in cahoots since he is court appointed.. he said I am a test case since there has been no such trial for usable vs unusable... He said also he was going to try let me stress try to file a motion for dismissal on grounds of it being unusable.. don't know.. frustrated! I have two girls and a fiancee n a job n house.. can't afford to lose it for something I couldn't smoke.. it was only like 9 wet grams

[Kingdiamond]

Police everywhere have no clue about the proper way of drying and curing cannabis I have  seen a good amount of people tried and convicted for possessing unusable cannabis by the time it goes to trial its dry as dust so its nigh time one of us hires a botanist with serious credentials in the processing of cannabis to be a expert witness until then its us against the system and we all know who wins that battle .

[wisco420]

I'm just at a loss here.. I'm not pleading guilty to something I'm not f#*@!+g guilty of! Corrupt system

[Kingdiamond]

Only you can make that decision get a good lawyer see what they can come up with they will likely offer you a plea deal to avoid sending this to misdemeanor court.

[t-pain]

the problem is that the court/prosecutor will try to say your 'expert' is not good enough. no matter who you get.

 

the books as experts sound good. not sure if that will fly either.

 

there hasnt really been a unusable vs usable testcase yet.

if you really are going to be the testcase, you really want a better lawyer.

 

dont freak out, illegal transport doesnt apply to patients.

 

heres a template motion to dismiss under section 8

http://www.michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/ccs_files/downloads/ModelMOTIONTODISMISS.pdf

i guess you type it out, add your infos, check it with 2 lawyers, then show it to the judge.

 

none of this is legal advice. but we're here to help.

[t-pain]

might want to file a seperate motion to have the illegal transport thrown out due to the people vs koon ruling.

 

it doesnt hurt to file motions. at least you will have more things to appeal with if they appeal...

 

handle this with absolute seriousness.

document everything your lawyer says/does. this will help if you need to prove insufficient represenation.

there are lots of convicted people who thought the charges would be dropped because they 'didnt do anything wrong' or 'they werent guilty'.

prosecutors dont care.

judges will sentence anyone if they hear marijuana. there is no compassion.

judge will keep mmma from being discussed in front of a jury. if they do that, just start loudly talking about the MMMA in court in front of the jury. a 'contempt of court' maybe more/less than whatever your sentence could be. (probably not in just an illegal transport case) but its something to think about.

 

no free speech in a courtroom?

our legal system is messed.

 

also, wisco420, do us a favor and call the michigan attorney generals office and ask them why they havent issued opinion on how hb4856 doesnt apply to patients. cant hurt to call.

 

(none of this is legal advice)

Edited September 19, 2013 by t-pain

[bobandtorey]

I am sorry to hear of your trouble....do you mind letting us know what city this was in? I do not understand the transportation law, it says clear as day in the act that medical use means transportation etc. Good luck, I would like to know who approves this person as an expert? Can anyone claim to be an expert and do this? What is needed to qualify as an expert in the eyes of the court as far as a mmj plant expert? Again good luck!

The judge has to approve your Expert first 

[bobandtorey]

hb4856 doesnt affect patients.

 

if your lawyer wont file a sec8 , fire him and get a new lawyer. tell the judge your lawyer isnt helping.

you dont have to prove anything usable vs unusable with a section8.

 

still, maybe able to get a sec4 if you prove very simply how people vs koon invalidates hb4856 aka the marijuana transport law.

 

simply:

MMMA says you can transport

MMMA says any laws inconsistent with MMMA are invalid

hb4856 limits transport, therefor its inconsistent.

 

this is not legal advice. i am no lawyer. dont take a plea.

Sorry thats the first mistake some people still think 

The first thing you do is say Yes i am guilty of having Medical marihuana but i had it because i have a card the PA does not have to prove you had it like it was before 2008 

 

 

fire him and get a new lawyer well if it is a court Lawyer you will need a better reason to fire him/her then just to say he is not doing his or her job it's up to the judge

 

this is not legal advice  i am no lawyer but sometimes i do play one on here

[bobandtorey]

I've been a patient since 2011 n I had a police encounter when leaving the bar with some friends.. he took my bag of unusable marijuana n said i may or may not receive a letter for court.. almost two months later I'm being charged with illegal transportation of medical marijuana.. n they said I need an expert in horticulture to say that it takes 5 to 7 days to dry and up to 120 days of curing.. how the hell can i find someone like that? Shouldn't it be there issue? what happened to them proving my guilty n not me proving innocence.. innocent until proven guilty I thought? My court appointed attorney wont even file a motion of dismissal until I find an expert... N my trial by jury is November 21st.. what can I do someone please any suggestions would be great

The word curing is not in the Law  that part will take a great Lawyer

[Celliach]

Illegal transport fully applies to patients.  The state just can't prevent you from transporting, but they can make rules on how you can transport.  You still have to follow those rules.

[Celliach]

Your wet, non-usable marijuana will be fully dry and usable when it's used as evidence in court.  At that point "unusable" will have absolutely no meaning in reference to the evidence.

 

Stop using the public defender and get a real lawyer.

[t-pain]

they can make rules on how you can transport.

 

sure, if they amend the MMMA. like the live plant bill did.

but this was done differently, not ammending the MMMA.

[Celliach]

They don't need to amend the MMMA to make transportation rules as they aren't taking away any rights already given under the MMMA.  

[BirdHunter]

Illegal transport fully applies to patients. The state just can't prevent you from transporting, but they can make rules on how you can transport. You still have to follow those rules.

They must ammend the mmma to do so. They did not. They added a law to the penal code that the mmma shields patients from via section 4.

 

Also don't argue unusable as carruthers declared all unusable outside section 4.

[wisco420]

If I could hire a legit lawyer I would but I'm strapped for cash now... Can barely make ends meet.. too bad I couldn't get a lawyer to go pro bono

[t-pain]

so wisco, are you going to call the attorney generals office and ask him about hb4856 not applying to MMMA patients?

 

 

Michigan Department of Attorney General



Lansing Office



G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor
525 W. Ottawa St.
P.O. Box 30212
Lansing, MI 48909
Main Number (517) 373-1110
Facsimile (517) 373-3042

[wisco420]

N that's gonna do what for me?

[bobandtorey]

They don't need to amend the MMMA to make transportation rules as they aren't taking away any rights already given under the MMMA.  

i agree because theres not much left of it 

 

Just kidding