Violating marijuana laws in NJ may result in significant penalties depending on the scale of the crime. The state uses its strict drug laws to prosecute defendants for charges such as the possession, distribution and growing of marijuana. Make sure you have a good defense by hiring an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Surf City, New Jersey. Make sure you are aware of your rights and how to protect yourself against the state with the assistance of a NJ marijuana defense lawyer.
New Jersey classifies marijuana a Schedule 1 Controlled Dangerous Substance. If you have control of over 50 grams of pot on you when you are taken into custody, it will justify felony charges.
If you get arrested for possession of marijuana (this can be fewer than 50 grams), charges often go beyond beyond simple possession. The state will sometimes pursue charges for the intent to sell, which is treated the equivalent of being arrested in the process of physically selling marijuana. Distribution and the intent to sell carry much more intense penalties than possession. You need to build a strong legal strategy with an experienced Surf City, New Jersey marijuana law firm to defend your case.
With experience fighting drug charges as a criminal defense lawyer and securing drug charges as a former prosecutor, Carmine Villani, Esq. will assist you with your marijuana possession or distribution offenses. Villani & DeLuca was established in 1996 and has been disputing pot charges for New Jersey’s accused ever since.
{Your pot charges hinge on how much marijuana you were in possession of, where your arrest took place and what law enforcement believes you were trying to do with the illegal drugs in your possession.|Were you taken into custody for a large amount of marijuana in your possession? Dependent upon the unique situation surrounding your arrest
Marijuana possession in NJ of less than 50 grams can be sentenced with jail terms of as much as six months and fines that are as high as $1,000. Possession of marijuana in levels of more than 50 grams is more serious and can produce a $25,000 fine and as much as a 1.5 year incarceration.
Distribution is a very serious charge in New Jersey. Distribution of less than one ounce of pot is a fourth degree crime and may generate penalties of a mac sentence of a year and a half in prison and $10,000 in fines. A decision that leads to your conviction for selling in the first degree, you face incarceration for as long as twenty years with a maximum fine of $300,000.
An arrest in a protected zone escalates a minimal penalty into a more severe one. Protected zones are in or near school zones as well as public parks. A school zone actually extends 1,000 feet from labeled buildings operated by the school district. Enhanced charges will still occur even if school is not in session and no students are present. Selling marijuana in or near a school is particularly serious. There are extenuating circumstances to this policy, however, a qualified NJ defense attorney can argue that the mandatory minimum sentence does not apply.
Some people are allowed to use medical marijuana in New Jersey. But, if you do live in another state, do not think that your medical marijuana exemption is valid in New Jersey. Only serious health conditions or a terminal illness may justify a medical marijuana exemption in NJ.
Are you presently in a legal battle over marijuana possession or distribution in Surf City, New Jersey? Ask New Jersey marijuana lawyers for legal advice with a free consultation by calling Villani & DeLuca at (732) 965-3350.
