Got a possession charge....chime in GC!

I have been browsing the site about the laws concerning possession of marijuana and had some further questions concerning them. About a week ago, five of my friends and I were charged with possession of marijuana. It was about 8PM and two officers arrived at a friend of mine's house to serve him papers for something unrelated to the situation at hand. When the police walked up to the door, they smelled marijuana in the air, and when my friend (who's house it was and who they had come to see to begin with) opened the door to speak with them, they busted in the door and immediately placed him under arrest. I understand that when an officer smells something suspicious outside of a house or in his vicinity it gives him probable cause, meaning in our case the officers were within their rights by busting into the house (or maybe they were not, this is just my interpretation from what I have read). When the police were arresting my friend, spread throughout the room we were relaxing in were a few bags of mariuana, ranging in size from less than a gram to what the officer predicted was an ounce. When the police saw this, and saw the six of us in the room (they did not witness anybody smoking the marijuana) they immediately charged all six of us with possession of marijuana. During this, the officers were very unprofessional, using swear words and trying to trick us into admitting whose it was and who's it wasn't. In fact, one officer said, and I quote, "It is my job to be an arrogant asshole to you." This officer also said, and I quote, "If it was up to me, marijuana would be legal." That is beside the fact, but I see that as being worthy of a complaint, as an officer, your job is to protect and serve, not to be an "arrogant asshole".

After these officers were rude with us, they asked us to search our person, which we all complied with respectfully. The officer patted me down and emptied my pockets, only to find nothing. I had not admitted to smoking any marijuana that night, and he did not find anything in my pockets or on my person as a whole. Two of my friends were in possession of marijuana on their person, and also complied with the search and were polite in admitting that it was theirs. None of us pointed a finger at the other, gave any information to the officers other than what was asked of us, or admitted that we had been smoking ANYTHING that night. That being said, I do not understand how it is plausible to give those of us who were not in possession of the substance a charge saying that we in fact were possessing marijuana. As I said before, I admitted to nothing, and I know my rights, the most important of them probably being my right to remain silent, which is exactly what I did. I have done some research, and have read over and over again that mere proximity to marijuana or being in a house in which marijuana is being smoked does not imply that I had any part in the use of that marijuana. The officer's reasoning in charging us was that our eyes were red. I was charged in May (pollen here in VA), and have allergies, I'm sorry if my eyes do not look the greatest all of the time. Once again, I was not within my household, and what one man decides to do within his house or allows other people to do within his house is his decision. I am now 20 years old and have seen marijuana and people using marijuana since high school. Needless to say, people using it around me does not make me uncomfortable. Quite frankly it is not my brain that is suffering from somebody else using and another grown man can decide on his own what he chooses and doesn't choose to partake in. The fact that someone who is sitting right next me is smoking a joint doesn't also make me guilty because he is sitting next to me. (That is an example, and that did not happen in our case, as I said, these officers did not witness any of us smoking marijuana or touching any of the bags of marijuana that were in the living room.)

If you can answer one question for me, it would have to be whether or not these officers were acting accordingly when they charged me with possession. Once again, I was not carrying anything on me, I did not admit to using marijuana or my friends using marijuana, I was very polite and cooperative, and I remained silent the entire time. The mere fact that there was smoke in the air and that there was marijuana in the room around me does not prove that I am a marijuana user. It was not even my house, so how does anything found within the house relate directly to me? This is my first charge on my adult record, so I am not a troublemaker in my county and I am not a repeat offeneder of this law. This paragraph states clearly what I am trying to explain, and it is the LAW:

"Another defense to possession is whether you in fact had dominion and control over the illicit substance. Cases specifically provide that mere proximity to drugs, without more evidence, does not create a presumption of knowing or intentional possession of the controlled substance. There must be some facts suggesting that the accused had some control over the drugs."

and another:

"Upon the prosecution of a person for a violation of this section, ownership or occupancy of premises or vehicle upon or in which a controlled substance was found shall not create a presumption that such person either knowingly or intentionally possessed such controlled substance."

With that being clearly stated under the law of possession of marijuana, how can I rightfully be charged with this infraction? If these officers, judges, and prosecuters are indeed law abiding citizens, then they will realize that by law I am an innocent person.

If anyone has had an experience similiar to this, how did things go for you? By the way, I live in Virginia.

 

well my friends who had weed on them admitted it. the person who rents the house we were in had his bong confiscated, but admitted that was his. one of my friends had an OUNCE, and a blunt in a SEPERATE bag, and he was not placed under arrest. i had nothing on me at all, so how am i possessing marijuana. i also did not say if i was or was not smoking, so they do not have any evidence against me other than the fact that I was there.

 

I know this. I know my rights and my favorite is my first Miranda right. I was silent and cooperative. All they wanted us to do was be scared and start pointing fingers at each other, which nobody did. Those of us who didn't have anything in our pockets will do fine, I believe. It never hurts to ask my fellow GC homies for some advice though!

 

I will have to look up that law, my friend. The thing is that the cop was standing ten feet away from us when he said he could tell we were high, I don't think you got a very good look officer. Well, not good enough of a look to make the assumption that I was high. I am not going to use that excuse in court, I was just using it as an example.

They also placed my boy under arrest and failed to read him his rights before or after they did so.

 

stoner lukas, I looked around and did not see anything about the law you were talking about, so I will continue to maintain my innocence. thank you for your .02!

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