Weisberg Law Blog

Marijuana Cases

I want to talk to you about marijuana cases.  Yes, the noxious weed is still illegal in Virginia and police officers will arrest you for possessing it.  In order to convict someone of possessing this illegal substance, it is required that the Commonwealth (officer) proves that the substance is actually marijuana.  This used to be done by a certificate of analysis from the Virginia Department of Forensic Sciences.  Since the state lab is so overworked, the law now allows the officer to field test the material with a quick testing device, approved by the apartment.

We recently got a favorable result in a marijuana case where the officer failed to prove that his field test device had been approved by the department.  This happened because the lawyer actually read the statute and noted the requirement; the lawyer was on his toes, being aware of the requirement.  So it goes in the real world of the practice of criminal law, law in the trenches.

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