mass. court rules you can still be charged with distribution offenses

bentom187 · Feb 14, 2012

now this seems its a possible error , but they state "if you have small amounts of marijuana ,you will get a 100$ fine" , if your found with "less than a ounce" your getting a distrabution charge .

why does the law contradict itself ? it sounds like if you have a ounce or less your getting a fine and the distrabution charge ?

does this make sense ?

http://www.foxprovidence.com/dpps/n...-rules-on-massachusetts-marijuana-law_4072490

"Court rules on MA marijuana law

Possession could lead to intent charges

Updated: Tuesday, 14 Feb 2012, 5:04 AM EST
Published : Tuesday, 14 Feb 2012, 5:04 AM EST
By Jeremy Brown

BOSTON (WPRI) - Massachusetts Supreme Court has issued a ruling on the state's marijuana law.

Anyone caught with a small amount of pot in the Bay State will face a $100 fine.

However, the court ruled that a person found in possession of less than an ounce of pot can be criminally charged with attempting to distribute.

The decision was intended to help clarify a 2008 voter approved ballot question that decriminalized possession of small amounts of the drug.

Copyright WPRI

yeah they really clarified it.

supermanlives · Feb 14, 2012

move to cali i did

bentom187 · Feb 14, 2012

lol, ill pass on the earthquakes.

Tyga · Feb 14, 2012

This shit is so ass backwards man... -.- Ready to pack my shit and head up to ME

dagnabit · Feb 14, 2012

it has to do with packaging and associated materials...
get caught with an oz and some papers $100 fine

get caught with 20 individually packaged grams,a digital scale,a bunch of baggies and 8 $20 bills? probably gonna get that distribution charge...

thats how i would read it

BlueCheer · Feb 14, 2012

Looks like the Holy Lords just get more conservative the older they get. What does everyone running the country fear so much?

Cheer

Ultra Current · Feb 14, 2012

It isnt confusing. I live in MA and have been caught with less than an ounce on multiple occasions. As long as its in one bag, its only a fine. Its real simple. They never even gane me a ticket. They just dumped it on the floor and stepped on it and gave me my bowl back. The laws in MA are great even for weight. Maine is great for plants but not dry weed. Mass is great for all and usually only gives probation unless you have guns or hard drugs. Ill stay in MA and continue to get top dollar with minimal risk.

bentom187 · Feb 14, 2012

yup i voted for decriminalization,it was supposed to be a civil fine of 100 bucks thats it, but this is NEW (feb14) ,they have changed the law we voted for.

what is a "small amount" its very arbitrary and they can give ya the civil fine,
then you get caught with that same "small" amount under a ounce and they stated your getting criminal charges.

it would make sense if you got charged crminally with over the oz. not under.

Ultra Current · Feb 14, 2012

The laws are meant to be confusing. No one is getting more than a fine unless you have multiple bags of trees or have more than an ounce. They just dont want you running around with multiple bags selling sacks. Even when the law originally passed it was for 1 bag. It makes perfect sense. They arent that dumb. Any dirty cop that confuses the law and arrests you will lead to the DA no pursuing the case unless you have other illegal things.

stihgnobevoli · Feb 14, 2012

Ultra Current said:
They just dumped it on the floor and stepped on it and gave me my bowl back.

can you pick the weed back up when the cops leave and go smoke it?

rasputin · Feb 14, 2012

What's with the trend on this site lately of people starting threads with bogus titles?

Nothing was revoked. Still decriminalized in MA. There was no reversal here. Just a clarification on what is personal possession and what is possession with intent to distribute. If you don't get the difference and need it spelled out then you're just low hanging fruit for LEO.

I thought it's common knowledge that one bag is very different than a bag of 20 individual bags. Ask a coke dealer, they'll tell ya.

Who drives around with an ounce or less broken down anyway? 16 year olds?

Keep in mind, smell is not probable cause. If you're getting pulled over multiple times and being caught with bud, you need to switch things up.

bentom187 · Feb 14, 2012

Ultra Current said:
The laws are meant to be confusing. No one is getting more than a fine unless you have multiple bags of trees or have more than an ounce. They just dont want you running around with multiple bags selling sacks. Even when the law originally passed it was for 1 bag. It makes perfect sense. They arent that dumb. Any dirty cop that confuses the law and arrests you will lead to the DA no pursuing the case unless you have other illegal things.

thats a leap of faith ,and i dont have any in the police. i would like to read the law as it was written ,and then see what the supreme court just did.

spunion · Feb 14, 2012

According to what I read on the norml site, growing is a misdemeanor in masses if under a certain number of plants.

TB Gardens · Feb 14, 2012

Everyone has already stated, it's clear & simple, in the laws eyes multiple bags screams dealing - they had to have some way to be able to still arrest ppl who are clearly running sacks around but keeping it under a zip.

TB Gardens · Feb 14, 2012

spunion said:
According to what I read on the norml site, growing is a misdemeanor in masses if under a certain number of plants.

Sale or Cultivation
Less than 50 lbs (first offense) misdemeanor 2 years*** $5,000
Less than 50 lbs (subsequent offense) misdemeanor 1 – 2.5 years $1,000 - $10,000

***Probation possible.
****Mandatory minimum sentence.

As I understand it, they will most likely weigh the plants & containers. I'm sure a good (expensive) lawyer could get around the containers in court.

Ultra Current · Feb 14, 2012

stihgnobevoli said:
can you pick the weed back up when the cops leave and go smoke it?

I suppose if you had a good brush then you could. They really grind that shit into the pavement though. Im always surprised to get my bowl back.

mayan · Feb 15, 2012

While this was, in my opinion, a particularly bad court decision and disappointing, I think that the title of this thread is very misleading. It seems to me that it would be much better to describe these type of things factually rather than wildly hyperbolically. The court case does not revoke decriminalization. Period.

bentom187 · Feb 15, 2012

" Just a clarification on what is personal possession and what is possession with intent to distribute"

clarification = small amount = relitive term
less than a ounce = less than 28 grams

both however describe the same thing

"However, the court ruled that a person found in possession of less than an ounce of pot can be criminally charged with attempting to distribute" = not decriminalized

doesnt say anything about having things bagged up or not.

or show me where it does.

i didnt vote because i sold i voted cause it was the right thing to do.

JJScorpio · Feb 15, 2012

The title to this thread is completey false. It only has to do with sales, which are the same as some other States that have decriminalized..... NY for example has specific laws that have to do with sales of as little as a gram....

"The court's decision was intended to help clarify a 2008 voter-approved ballot question that decriminalized possession of small amounts of pot. Someone caught with less than an ounce of marijuana now faces a $100 fine instead of jail time.

In two rulings issued Monday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said the 2008 law doesn't shield those charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

The first case occurred in 2010, when a woman called the Great Barrington police to report that several people, including her daughter and a man later identified by police as Shawn Keefner, were smoking marijuana in her front yard.

An officer searched Keefner and found three individually wrapped plastic bags of marijuana, each weighing about 2 grams, a net weight under 1 ounce, police said. Officers also found $100 in cash and a cellphone with a message that had been sent about 20 minutes earlier from someone looking to buy $20 worth of marijuana, they said.

Keefner was arrested and appealed.

The court, in its ruling, concluded that the 2008 law "did not repeal the offense of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute."

It's not very bright of someone to leave a message on their phone of someone calling to buy weed.....

bentom187 · Feb 15, 2012

now had they reported it in context like that i probabley wouldnt have started it.

mass. court rules you can still be charged with distribution offenses

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