An opinion released yesterday by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts stated that a person found with a small amount of marijuana could still be charged with intent to distribute, despite a 2008 law removing criminal penalties for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
The statement comes from the ruling on a 2010 case in which a person with around six grams of marijuana in three separate bags was charged with intent to distribute marijuana. Defense attorneys argued that intent did not matter if the amount was less than an ounce because there are no criminal charges for that amount. A lower court judge agreed, but was overruled by yesterday’s decision.
The law that removed criminal penalties for small amounts, passed through referendum in 2008 by a significant majority of voters, was not intended to remove penalties for sale of marijuana. But intent to sell is something entirely different. It is highly doubtful that anyone with less than an ounce has the intent to distribute any of it. The burden of proof must lie on the state when charging someone with so little marijuana with being a distributor. To have it otherwise could provide overzealous prosecutors with a method of circumventing the 2008 law.
In this particular case, the ruling is based on pretty flimsy evidence. The defendant had six grams of marijuana stored in three separate bags when he was searched. Even though the police did not witness him conduct a sale, he was charged with intent to distribute simply because his marijuana, which was less than a quarter of what he would need to invoke criminal penalties, was not stored in a single container!
Even disregarding the possibility that this person had different strains of marijuana that he did not want to mix together, or that perhaps he had purchased the marijuana that way and had not thought to consolidate it, the fact remains that it is no more than a civil infraction under Massachusetts law to have less than an ounce of marijuana in one’s possession. The law does not mandate that it must be in a single container. If the authorities believe that someone with less than an ounce of marijuana is actually selling it, they should have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Three tiny bags do not qualify.
When voters passed the law in 2008, they knew what they were doing. They voted to remove criminal penalties for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. Period. It doesn’t matter if that marijuana is in one bag or ten. If it is less than an ounce, there should be no criminal charges. If there is a sale, let the evidence show it. If not, as was the case here, then the matter should be handled the way the voters declared: with a civil infraction.
Some vocal law enforcement critics of the 2008 law have had trouble adjusting to the new system. It will come as no surprise if police and prosecutors begin looking for increasingly inventive and disingenuous ways to claim that marijuana users have the intent to distribute the contents of their pockets. Maybe next they will claim that simply carrying marijuana with you is proof enough of intent to distribute. All so that a few people who don’t like marijuana use can keep arresting people for it and ignore the considered opinion of the majority of Massachusetts.
I still don’t see how one can be charged for something they might intend to do. What if I had the intention to go through a red light, does that mean I already did?? This law really makes no sense and yet it still continues. The people against marijuana is the whole reason the economy is down the toilet in the first place. Come on people stop being ignorant just because the tv or the media told you it was bad. Start thinking for yourselves and not let every agency think for you. Its time to wake up and take control of our own lives and not let the agencies and governments tell you how to live it.
Sounds to me like the guy was selling quarter bags. Six grams makes up a shy quarter but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what he was doing.
Legalize it and get rid of the street dealers…sounds good to me.
I have three candy bars. That doesn’t mean I’m gonna sell them.
If you live in Connecticut and want to end marijuana prohibition in our state, please take a minute to visit http://www.ctprimaryproject.com.
Please pass this on to anyone you know in Connecticut!
Owen…preach on…Amen
This whole thing sounds like sour grapes on the cops part. They are loosing and they know it but they are such pathetic sore losers that they cant admit defeat and move on their like some kind of delusional pet owner who knows their 20 yr old cat or dog is dying and suffering but cant just bring their self to put it down.
Hey, this guy is low rent and he needed to parcel out the weed to himself a little at a time…a baggie a week. I agree with the intent thing. I have intended to walk up to some smartass cop and slap them up side the head many times. At what point do I commit the crime? Or I have intended to light up a big one in front of my favorite policeman but I didn’t…but I still intended to. Should I be arrested?
It is this silliness that drives us to outright legalize marijuana. Enough of this breaking into our homes, medicine cabinets and gardens because you feel this overwelming need to stop us from harming ourselves by using a botanical herb that has never harmed anyone. If you feel the need to bust down my door then do it when I am in harms way, when someones been kidnapped, when a jail break happens. Something a bit more serious than me smoking a joint. I would comment on how silly our jackbooted police are but they take this drug war seriously and they play for keeps. People are harmed and killed while they tear our homes apart looking for marijuana (which has never harmed anyone). Our police believe that marijuana is so dangerous that arresting, fines and jail are not enough. They must take your home and property and any cash you have also. They may even try to remove your children because pot is that dangerous. They can shoot your pets, cause grampa a heart attack, terrorize your children but it’s all okay because they are looking for pot (which never harmed anyone). What’s a little home invasion, jail time, big fines, property seizure and asset forfeiture if it protects us from pot huh?
That is really a shocking ruling undermining the will of the state’s voters. I can’t believe there wasn’t additional evidence of intent to distribute, beyond the weed being divided thrice, which, as Morgan points out, could very well be how the defendant bought it in the first place. It’s one thing for the law and order types to bring these charges (that’s to be expected — though I know several Mass. ADA’s personally who partake in all sorts of illegal drugs (again, to be expected)) but for the state’s highest court to validate it… I can only ask: What the fuck?
Well, guess I should have RTFA before posting, which, I guess, Morgan, didn’t bother to do. Or maybe he did and is just being disingenuous.
Anyways, the ruling remains shitty in my opinion, just like the prohibition on marijuana, but isn’t really out of line with the intent of the Mass. voters. There was indeed additional evidence of intent to distribute against the defendant with three bags: namely, a text message he received asking to buy a $20 bag of weed. Of course, the court also ruled that this evidence was obtained through an unconstitutional search and could not be used against him. So I assume he’s probably in the clear, though the article doesn’t really say.
Unfortunately, the court also ruled on the case of a separate defendant who had under an ounce of weed broken up into 14 bags and found that this too amounted to intent to distribute. While I may think you should be able to carry your sub-ounce of weed in an infinite number of containers (or an infinite amount of weed itself for that matter) I also think having it broken up into 14 bags reasonably constitutes intent to distribute. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I wonder how the court would have ruled on just the 3-bag case absent the text message evidence? What would you suggest a valid number of bags to have weed broken into before it becomes reasonable to infer intent to distribute? Surely somewhere between 3 and 14, no? Of course, these are stupid arguments to have to have in the first place. It shouldn’t matter. It should all be legal. We need a test case involving 13 defendants each with under an ounce of weed subdivided into one more bag than the last from 1-13. Than the law will be made clear and justice will truly be served.
I agree with much of what wtf writes. I would add that in the case involving three bags the young man walks because the allowance of his motion to suppress was affirmed. In the case of the man with the 14 bags and almost 600 in cash was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He went to his friend Vinny’s while a search warrant in a drug case granting authority to search all persons present was being executed. His motion to suppress has yet to be determined.
I would also add that a motion to dismiss is evaluated by a different and less stringent standard than a motion for a required finding of not guilty/aka directed verdict at the close of the government’s case and at the close of all testimony prior to submission to a jury and renewed following an adverse verdict.
Had the evidence in the first case not been suppressed the case would go to the jury, because of the text messages. Time will tell if the evidence in the second case will be suppressed or how the court will rule on the denial of a motion for a directed verdict. in the latter case it may on the state of the evidence as to the source of the cash.
It’s pretty clear that the author of this article misunderstands the Mass. Supreme Court ruling. Of course they should have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to sell marijuana and that’s exactly what the Supreme Court ruled. Having less than an ounce of marijuana for personal use, whether in one baggie or ten, is still a civil infraction. All the court ruled is that a prosecution can occur whereby the prosecution would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that someone intended to sell the marijuana that they possessed, even if said marijuana were less than an ounce. This is perfectly reasonable and consistent with the laws of all other states. What is unreasonable is that marijuana is illegal in the first place. I’m a little bit disturbed that the number one marijuana advocacy organization in the country has people publishing articles on their blog that don’t even understand the subject matter that they are writing about.
@ David Pullman, this ruling, as applied in this case, means that having marijuana in separate containers is proof of intent to distribute, which is bullshit. The whole point the author is trying to make here is that INTENT to distribute is a non-starter when under the decriminalized amount. Actual SALE should to be proven, not intent. However, if intent is going to be a chargeable offense for less than an ounce, there should be proof “beyond a reasonable doubt” and that was not found in this case.
As applied, this ruling could have serious implications for people carrying less than an ounce in Massachusetts.
massachusetts is a nazi state of seige when it comes to marijuana. You have police chiefs that say they will NOT recognize the decriminalized marijuana law from 2008 and they will charge anyone caught with any amount of marijuana and then the accused can prove in court that they were not selling it.
I have first hand knowledge of this when I placed a 911 call and police came w/emt’s into my house. The cop saw a roach in my ashtray and three baggies that contained no usable marijuana, only stems & seeds from when I rolled a couple joints and kept the seeds in the bag i had the bud in b4 i smoked it. The cops used this for probable cause and got a warrant for my house. I was held for 60days without bail and ended up on probation for a year and it costs me $7000. in legal costs for lawyer, two year loss of license ( which caused me to lose my job selling cars as u need avalid drivers license), and all the trauma that goes with staying in jail without bail housed with violent offenders as I was in the no bail pod and that is how they set it up in this jail here…overall this experience was like having stormtroopers enter my home & rip it up cuz i had a roach in my ashtray and they ignored the decriminalization law for marijuana, and the police chief shoots his mouth off bragging how he won’t enforce that law in his town…It is very similar to Boss Hog and the dukes of hazzard with cops doing whatever they feel is right to them, and NOT follw the laws themselves….they earned their name “PIG” and they deserve to be called pigs…oink oink oink….
I watched a new episode of cops yesterday.
Guy n girl got caught with 32 ounces in the trunk, can u guess what the first charge mr piggy said? Attempt to distribute!
I’d kill an ounce in 4 days personally.
If I had a pound or two, it does not mean I am gonna distribute. Maybe I am gonna extract to make hash, cookies, baking snacks, and some on the side to smoke for I, Myself.
I am just so exhausted of the US federal govt, words cannot explain.
As I said exhausted :/.
I meant to say above, 32 grams and intent to distribute.
Been reading medical marijuana news all day long as well.
nothing has changed yet, stilla nazi seige state here, freakin pigs, follow what law suits them that day, nothing less expected, can u say soooweeee
All this crap needs to end. End prohibition and legalize marijuana. “OMG” “OBAMA MUST GO” . Obama is taking away our voices and our votes no longer matter. All these ignorant people think we have plenty of jails to hold all us smokers. What happened to our constitution? Wasn’t that brought up in the courts? It used to be unconstitutional if our vote were sacrificed. Why vote if the courts keep changing things and our vote no longer matters? We need to speak up and teach government that this is about the people and what we want. It’s not what government wants. We’ve lost democracy in our country. No one in their right mind should charge 3 dime bags or 6 grams with intent to distribute. That’s just one good blunt. I’ve been there. Done that. Its been 6 years ago I was at someones house that a Roach in their ashtray got me charged with the home owner for intent to distribute. It ruined my job career. He bought it that way. My 1st time in trouble. Here in Georgia you get 5 yrs in prison for intent. Mine was dismissed but it doesn’t matter. Just the charge even if dismissed ruins all decent jobs. Our government is broken and Obama just “doesn’t get it”. Our right to vote, and the vote of the people doesn’t matter. Its a harmless plant that’s helped billions and never killed one person. Obama smoked lots in college and loved it. So what is his problem with marijuana? Someone needs to send him a joint so he’ll lighten up on it. Its rediculous. If you think other states are bad, our representatives say they vote their conscience and what citizens want doesn’t matter. Just cause they believe as they did 40 yrs ago. The representatives only argument was that he thinks its a gateway drug. He’s ignorant. But he votes as he wants. I told him that he’s wrong in ignoring voters and voting his wish. I’m blacklisted. My state doesn’t listen. All they know to say is pot is bad and they will never vote for it. Our testing here is just to shut people up. It won’t make a difference. Our GA. Government says they will continue to vote no to it. Our votes don’t matter.