Posts Tagged ‘california criminal defense lawyers association’
California Criminal Defense Lawyer
Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
Hire the Top Pearland Drug Crimes Lawyer!
Marijuana is regarded as the frequently abused illegal drug in the United States. Marijuana is defined as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, classified as having a very high potential for abuse. Street names for marijuana include grass, pot, weed, Mary Jane, dope, indo, and hydro. Marijuana possession laws can certainly impose strict penalties under certain circumstances.
Possession of marijuana (sometimes generally known as simple possession) is considered the most common drug criminal activity in the United States. Regarded as a misdemeanor in a majority of states, marijuana possession penalties include fines, probation, and/or community service. Criminal possession of marijuana is the next level up in marijuana possession violations and consists of possession of marijuana in a public place where it is either burning or in open public view in quantities of more than two oz . but less eight ounces. Criminal possession of marijuana is also a misdemeanor however the penalties increase as does the possibility of prison time.
Technically, under federal drug law, the possession of marijuana, in any amount, is punishable by up to one year in prison and a minimum fine of $1,000 for an initial conviction. Further convictions and greater amounts bring about much stiffer penalties. Comparatively few marijuana possession cases give rise to a felony level crime. Marijuana distribution, however, is invariably a felony under federal law. The sale of under 50 kilograms of marijuana (the smallest amount category) is punishable by 5 years in prison as well as a $250,000 fine.
Marijuana is typically consumed in its organic state, the plant itself used in various ways to produce a hallucinogenic effect on the user. Abuse and use of the cannabis plant as a means for getting high dates back to biblical times. The advent of laws criminalizing the use of the drug occurred sometime in the course of the twentieth century, with battles to legalize the use of marijuana argued ever since, its use among Native Americans in religious ceremonies and the use of the drug by cancer patients to alleviate nausea being the most recurrent arguments used for its legalization, as well as a major change in the marijuana possession laws.
Marijuana production’s principal source is Mexico. The majority of foreign-produced marijuana accessible within the United States is smuggled into the country from Mexico over the Mexico border by criminal groups. Mexican criminal groups control nearly all of wholesale marijuana distribution in the U.S., with Asian criminal groups that bring in the product over the Canadian border running a close second. The potency of Canadian marijuana being deemed better than the Mexican version has resulted in an increase in Asian control of marijuana production and distribution. According to the National Drug Threat Assessment 2007, high potency Canada-based smuggling, distribution and production groups are increasing, giving rise to large-scale cannabis cultivation in large outdoor sites by both Mexican and Asian groups. Additionally, in an effort to stay competitive in the higher potency marijuana distribution trade, Asian groups have started operating indoor grow sites in residences throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. The trend is to purchase or rent a house, modify the house for the purpose of producing two to four crops of cannabis and walking away from the property once the crops are harvested.
Challenges to existing marijuana production and distribution laws are ongoing, with several states decriminalizing certain marijuana usage for particular medical conditions. Nevertheless , in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Club, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that marijuana has no medical value as determined by Congress. The court
