Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

The Nevada Education Department reports that an increased number of high school students are depressed and engaging in destructive behavior, including smoking marijuana. Nearly forty percent of the students surveyed said they used pot, which is a significant increase from 2007. Experts surmise that these trends are a result of the recession and the kids’ parents’ stress rubbing off on them.

Marijuana sales law in Nevada makes it a category B felony to sell or grow marijuana in the state. (However, if the amount of marijuana in question is one hundred pounds or more, then trafficking law applies instead of marijuana sales law in Nevada.) The penalties for marijuana sales law in Nevada increases with each successive offense:

For a first offense of selling marijuana in Nevada, the defendant usually receives probation and a suspended sentence, but the judge may order one to six years in Nevada State Prison with an optional fine of up to $20,000. A second offense allows the judge to order two to ten years in prison with an optional fine of up to $20,000. And for a third offense, the defendant faces three to fifteen years in prison with the optional $20,000 fine. These sentences may be increased if the defendant allegedly sold to minors or sold near minors.

Nevadans for Sensible Marijuana Laws filed a new initiative to regulate Nevada marijuana law with the secretary of state's office last week. The organization needs to gather more than 97,000 signatures to have the measure sent to the 2011 Legislature. Their ultimate goal is to have the initiative placed on the 2012 ballot.

The manager of the campaign, David Schwartz, argues that marijuana is actually safer than alcohol and should therefore no longer be prohibited: "We will encourage voters to consider this fact and decide for themselves whether it makes sense to allow adults to use alcohol freely, but punish them if they choose to use a less harmful substance, marijuana." This latest initiative would allow 120 stores statewide to sell marijuana and would require them to pay a $2,500 licensing fee. Meanwhile, there could be only 50 growers, and they'd be required to pay $5,000 in fees.

Continue reading "Initiative to Regulate Marijuana Use Filed in Nevada" »

Today, the attorney for one of the Honolulu police officers arrested in August for breaking NRS 453.336 (Nevada simple marijuana possession law) pleaded not guilty on behalf of his client. The cop was also charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

NRS 453.336 makes it a crime to possess any quantity of marijuana for personal use. If you’re convicted of possessing one ounce or less, the penalties are relatively lenient for a first and second offense, which are just misdemeanors. A third offense is a gross misdemeanor, and a fourth is a category E felony.

However, if you’re convicted of possessing more than one ounce of pot, NRS 453.336 makes a first offense a category E felony. However, if you’ve never been convicted of drug crimes before, a good lawyer can secure you a suspended sentence and probation.

The Marijuana Policy Project of Nevada, whose mission is to reform the harsh marijuana laws in Nevada, announced today that they will give $10,000 to any state resident who can demonstrate that alcohol is safer than marijuana. Specifically, contestants have to disprove the following three statements using peer-reviewed papers and government studies as proof:

1. Alcohol is significantly more toxic than marijuana, making death by overdose far more likely with alcohol.


2. The health effects from long-term alcohol consumption cause tens of thousands of more deaths in the U.S. annually than the health effects from the long-term consumption of marijuana.


3. Violent crime committed by individuals intoxicated by alcohol is far more prevalent in the U.S. than violent crime committed by individuals intoxicated by marijuana only.

Continue reading "Marijuana Policy Project to Give $10,000 to Anyone Who Proves Alcohol is Safer than Marijuana" »

On Saturday, Las Vegas police apprehended two cops from the Honolulu Police Department for alleged marijuana possession in Nevada and other charges. Officer Shayne Souza, 47, and Officer Kevin Fujioka, 37, were in town for the Nevada Police and Fire Games, a five-day sporting extravaganza attended by more than two thousand police and firefighters from all over America. If convicted, they face fines, jail time, and termination of employment from the HPD.

The arrest occurred during a softball tournament when Las Vegas police spotted the two HPD cops parked illegally in a van at Desert Breeze Park. When the officer approached, Souza and Fujioka drove off, leading the LVPD on a short chase, before trying to run away. They were soon caught, though pepper spray had to be used on Souza.

In addition to charges for marijuana possession in Nevada, Souza was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and Fujioka was charged with DUI.

Law enforcement needs to obtain warrants prior to executing searches except in certain extraordinary situations, including emergencies. Recently, the Nevada Supreme Court adopted a new test to determine whether a warrantless search of a private residence is permissible.

Formerly, warrantless home entry by law enforcement was constitutional as long as two standards were met:

• the cops reasonably believed that emergency assistance was needed, and


• there was no intent to either search or arrest at the time of entry

But in the May 2009 Nevada Supreme Court case Hannon v. State (125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 15), the Court announced they changed the test to conform with the 2006 United States Supreme Court case Brigham City v. Stuart (547 U.S. 398, 404). Now, when deciding the reasonableness of an emergency home entry, the Court will consider only whether law enforcement “had an objectively reasonable basis to believe that there was an immediate need to protect the lives or safety of themselves or others.” Therefore, the cop’s subjective determination is no longer relevant.

In Hannon, an officer arrived at a private residence after reports of a domestic disturbance. Even though the situation had cooled by the time the officer arrived, the officer entered the house without the residents’ permission and found evidence of marijuana use. An occupant, Mr. Hannon, was charged for possession of a controlled substance in Nevada, and Mr. Hannon then moved to suppress the marijuana on the grounds that the officer’s search was unreasonable.

Continue reading "NV Supreme Court Defines New Standard for Warrantless Entries" »

A few weeks ago, our Las Vegas criminal defense lawyers told you about Nevada Senate Bill 262. This bill would have greatly increased penalties for the cultivation of marijuana, even if the suspect was enrolled in the Nevada Medical Marijuana Program. Fortunately, the bill just recently died in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.

The Nevada Medical Marijuana Program allows sick Nevada citizens to apply to the Nevada State Health Division for a license to grow and possess marijuana for medicinal purposes. Upon acceptance into the program, members may maintain up to seven marijuana plants, three of which can be blooming.

Had Nevada Senate Bill 262 passed, members who broke this seven-plant rule could then be charged with intent to sell marijuana, which carries up to fifteen years imprisonment. Since it didn’t pass, cardholding medical marijuana users who grow more than seven plants now face only possession charges, which carry a maximum of four years imprisonment.

Marijuana Trafficking Rises in Las Vegas as Marijuana Policy Project Moves into Town

The word “trafficking” is commonly used to refer to all kinds of drug transportation crimes. But in Nevada, NRS 453.339 defines trafficking of marijuana as any use of the marijuana, from simple possession to selling, as long as the marijuana weighs one hundred pounds or more. So, for example, while smoking a joint on a Reno street corner may land you a possession charge, storing one hundred pounds of pot in your home may lead to an arrest for Reno trafficking. This crime is specifically targeted at big-time drug lords who deal with large quantities of weed.

According to the National Drug Intelligence Center, marijuana trafficking is only getting more rampant in Clark County. The number of indoor cannabis cultivation operations that have been seized by Nevada state police has increased from 15 in 2005 to 38 just two years ago. Indeed, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the number of individual marijuana plants seized by the police grew from 953 plants in 2005 to nearly six thousand in 2007.

Interestingly, many of the people who are trafficking pot in Las Vegas attempt to do so under the guise of medical marijuana laws. However, the Nevada State Division of Health permits cardholding medical marijuana users to grow only three mature plants at a time, and traffickers cultivate far more than that. According to Nevada criminal defense attorney Michael Becker, "Unusually high electricity bills often give police a tip-off that an otherwise normal looking house may in fact be a front for an underground marijuana lab."

With marijuana trafficking on the rise in Nevada, it is perhaps ironic that the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) just opened a new chapter in Las Vegas. Among the MPP’s goals is to overturn NRS 453.321, which criminalizes selling marijuana in Las Vegas and growing marijuana in Las Vegas.

Currently, selling weed in Clark County is a criminal felony that may carry one to six years of imprisonment. And if Senate Bill 262 passes in the state legislature, card-holding Nevada medical marijuana users may be imprisoned merely for cultivating marijuana in Nevada beyond the seven-plant maximum. Although the MPP is new to Nevada, it’s hopeful that it may one day achieve its goal of decriminalizing pot use altogether: On Election Day in 2006, a ballot measure to eliminate marijuana prohibition was approved by a record-breaking 44% of voting Nevadans.

To contact the new Nevada chapter of the MPP, you can write them at:
MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT OF NEVADA
P.O. BOX 82333
LAS VEGAS, NV 89180

Or else visit their website and contact them through their online form.

In Nevada, it is a felony to knowingly possess marijuana with the intent to sell (NRS 453.337). If a suspect is found with cash, a weapon, pay/owe sheets, marijuana separated out into pre-measured baggies, and in an area where drug deals typically take place, a lawyer may have a challenging time trying to convince the judge that the suspect had no intention of selling the marijuana. However, as Las Vegas criminal defense attorney Michael Becker explains, "A conviction for marijuana possession for the purpose of sale in Nevada may be avoided completely if the lawyer can show that the police’s methods for discovering the marijuana and other items were unconstitutional."

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution demands that searches and seizures be reasonable and supported by probable cause. So, for example, if a cop finds a suspect to be carrying marijuana and pay/owe sheets during a traffic stop, a good criminal defense attorney would probe whether this traffic stop and the subsequent search were legal. If the cop pulled the suspect over for speeding and then saw marijuana in the passenger seat, the cop might have probable cause to search the car. On the other hand, if the attorney can determine that the cop pulled over the suspect because of his race or for no good reason at all, then the stop and the subsequent search would be illegal.

Once the attorney determines that the search may have been illegal, the attorney then may move to suppress the evidence, which includes the marijuana and anything else the cop may have found during the illegal search. And if the Clark County court grants this motion, the charge for possession of marijuana for the purpose of sale will likely be dismissed since no evidence will remain to prove possession or intent.

The legal definition of marijuana in Nevada comprises hemp because it’s technically a cannabis plant. Therefore, Nevada laws on marijuana prohibit the cultivation, manufacture and sale of raw hemp in the state. This is despite the fact that more hemp products are exported to the United States than to any other country, and the United States itself used to be a leading producer of hemp, second only to cotton in some markets.

Although Las Vegas’s definition of marijuana includes hemp, hemp is very different than marijuana. Many experts agree that smoking hemp does not produce a high, which is because hemp contains far less THC than marijuana. Hemp plants can be easily distinguished from marijuana, the former growing much taller. And unlike marijuana, hemp has hundreds of practical purposes, as it can be used to make everything from paper, clothes, oil, food and medicines.

At this time, some states have challenged federal law by legalizing the cultivation of hemp (these states are North Dakota, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana and West Virginia). However, resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration has thus far thwarted their efforts to begin producing. For more information on hemp in Nevada as well as the movement to remove hemp from Nevada’s legal definition of marijuana, contact the Nevada Office of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation.

Although Clark County courts enforce an extremely strict marijuana policy, Nevada law on marijuana possession is actually very forgiving to citizens convicted for the first time. If the amount in question is over an ounce, the judge will probably suspend the sentence and grant probation. And if the amount is under an ounce, NRS 453.336 allows both first- and second-time offenders to get away with paying only a fine.

The laws for possession of marijuana in Las Vegas, NV, actually reflect a national trend to give second chances to first-time offenders. According to the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2002 only .003 percent of all 1.2 million state inmates were serving time for first-time marijuana possession. And many of these people were in fact charged with more serious crimes but managed to plead their cases down to possession.

Furthermore, Nevada citizens convicted of marijuana possession in Las Vegas (NRS 453.336) on a first or second offense are often instructed to go to drug court. In doing so, the state aims to curb marijuana possession in Clark County not by punishment in the form of incarceration but by education in the form of treatment. This, too, mirrors a national trend—the criminal justice system is the biggest drug treatment program referral source in the country.