It's just a little pot right? Wrong! At least wrong when it comes to the view by most police, prosecutors, and courts. One Michigan judge was quoted referring to marijuana as the “Devil’s weed, Satan’s surge, and Satan’s weed.
Possession of Marijuana in Michigan
A simple possession of marijuana in Michigan has consequences that are harsher than a drinking and driving offense. Possession of marijuana is charged as a criminal misdemeanor. MCL 333.7403 makes the maximum possible penalty up to a full year in jail and fines of $1,000.00.
While most first time offenders will not be ordered to a year in jail they are often times ordered to community service, work program, substance abuse counseling, random drug and alcohol screens, in-patient or out-patient counseling, and up to two years of reporting probation. However, a violation of probation can result in serving the full jail term of a year.
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Another major punishment associated with a marijuana charge is the suspension of your driving privileges for 6 months. Federal student loans are suspended for 1 year, meaning there are no loans for college.
It’s common for a possession of paraphernalia charge to be tacked on to almost any drug offense.
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Luckily, for first time offenders (and in some cases second offenders) there are Michigan statutes that allow for a marijuana offense to be kept non-public or to even have the case dismissed without a conviction being entered. The benefit is that driving privileges and student loans are not suspended. Someone under one of these special statutes is legally allowed to tell employer or potential school they have not been convicted of a crime and it will not show up on background search available to the public.
Second Offense Possession of Marijuana
As you can imagine, a second offense of possession of marijuana has a stiffer penalty than a first offense. The driver license suspension is doubled to a full year without driving privileges and the suspension of federal student loans is increased to two years.
Criminal Lawyer, Aaron J. Boria
Aaron J. Boria is a criminal defense lawyer located in downtown Plymouth, Michigan right on Penniman Avenue. The law firm has an open door policy and consultations are free. We take pride in answering most legal questions over the phone at no charge. For more information about Attorney Boria click here: Boria Law
