In South Carolina all marijuana possession charges are criminal in nature.
The most common offense is called
Simple Possession of Marijuana and may be listed as SMPJ on your ticket or arrest warrant. Marijuana
charges are criminal even if the police just wrote you a ticket and did
not take you to jail. If you plead guilty or are found guilty by the Court
you may receive up to 30 days in jail.
Often times people are charged when only a small amount of marijuana is
found. This may be a few burned remints in an ashtray or the residue in
a pipe. In some states there are limits on the amount of marijuana the
police have to find in order to be criminally charged, however in South
Carolina the only requirement is that it be enough marijuana to be tested.
Although the small amount of marijuana may not be a legal defense in South
Carolina there are always possible issues in any drug case involving a
situation where the police either searched a person, home or automobile
or questioned someone in custody.
A police search or pat-down detailed enough to find a small amount of
marijuana is in almost all cases required to be either by the consent
of the person to be searched or with enough probable cause to obtain a
search warrant. If the police wrongfully search someone then the marijuana
should be suppressed and all criminal charges dismissed.
If you are facing a marijuana or other drug charge in South Carolina contact
criminal defense attorney James Snell at 1-888-301-6004.
