The law creates a four-year pilot program which goes into effect January 1, 2014. Under the law, patients with debilitating medical conditions may obtain marijuana from one of 60 licensed dispensaries. The law specifies 35 eligible medical conditions including cancer, Parkinson’s, glaucoma, lupus, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, and AIDS.

Patients or doctors may not grow their own cannabis but may purchase up to 2.5 ounces every two weeks from a dispensary. Marijuana will be grown in licensed cultivation centers, one for each of Illinois’s 22 police districts. Centers must be at least 2,500 feet away from schools or daycare facilities and must have 24-hour surveillance and inventory controls.

Even if you quality for registrered use, you may not possess the pot in a school, school bus, day care, or correctional facility. Nor may you keep it in your car unless it is sealed and inaccessible to you while driving.

You may not smoke publicly or in a motor vehicle, school bus, school, correctional facility, day care, or knowingly near a minor. You may not operate a motor vehicle while under the influence or otherwise act negligently. The new law creates a bit of a dilemma since it is currently illegal to drive in Illinois with any traces of marijuana in your system, and if you were in an accident, it is unresolved how judges will treat you.

You may not give or sell your cannabis to others or fraudulently try to obtain a registration card or knowingly obtain more than your allotted amount.

A business, school or university may still bar the use of medical marijuana.

If you fail to comply with the law, you may be charged with any criminal penalties for unlawful possession or sale, along with fines and additional offenses.

If you are charged with violating the new law, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. An experienced attorney can review your case to help devise the best possible defense. Perhaps you had marijuana in the car, but the police lacked the probable cause to stop you. Or you did not know you were too close to a minor when you were smoking.

If you have questions about your particular case or another related criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

For more information, see Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

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Can you fight the results of the search?

In Illinois, the police generally need a warrant to search you, your home or your car unless they spot evidence in plain view. The police must be somewhere they have a right to go. They cannot barge into your bedroom and look around. But if they stop you for speeding and notice a bag of pot on the front seat of your car, the police may have grounds to search.

While courts usually find a reason to uphold a search, not everything a cop does is permitted. In a recent Illinois appeals case, the officer stopped a defendant for throwing a can out his car window. When the officer ordered the defendant out of the car, she noticed a knotted plastic baggie sticking out of his pocket. The baggie turned out to contain drugs. Nevertheless, the appeals court held that spotting the baggie did not justify the search.

The court noted that objects such as spoons, straws, mirrors and baggies are often used in drug dealing. Allowing police to search based on the presence of one of these items would lead to the type of random searching forbidden by the Constitution. The police have a basis to search only if the incriminating nature of the baggie or spoon is immediately apparent, for example, some of the powder is visible in the baggie.

If you have been charged with a crime, contact an experienced criminal law attorney immediately. If the officer’s search is questionable, an attorney may be able to bring a motion before the judge to have the results of the search thrown out.

If you have questions about this or another related criminal or traffic matter, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

Source: People v Cesar Garcia.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves the communities of Arlington Heights, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Wilmette and Winnetka.) .

The post “THE OFFICER JUST SAW IT!”: PLAIN VIEW EXCEPTION TO POLICE SEARCHING WITHOUT A WARRANT appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.

What can happen to you, and what can you do?

While controversy abounds about whether marijuana is any worse than drinking alcohol, state law treats marijuana possession as a crime. The degree of the offense along with the penalty ranges with the amount of cannabis. If you have less than 2.5 grams of any substance containing cannabis, you can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days. From there, the offense level steps up a degree for each increase in quantity. For example, 10 to 30 grams is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, 30 to 500 grams is a Class 4 felony punishable by 1 to 3 years, and possessing more than 5,000 grams merits a Class 1 felony, punishable by 4 to 15 years. (Source: 720 ILCS 550/4.)

The charges stiffen if you deal or intend to deal cannabis. Then, under 2.5 grams is a Class B misdemeanor while 10 to 30 grams is a Class 4 felony, 30 to 500 grams is a Class 3 felony with a 2 to 5 year sentence and up to a $50,000 fine, and more than 5,000 grams becomes a Class X felony punishable by 6 to 30 years and up to a $200,000fine. (Source: 720 ILCS 550/5.) The charges also increase if this is not your first offense or if you should commit your offense within 1,000 feet of a school or any conveyance used by a school such as a school bus. (See 720 ILCS 550/5.2.)

So what can you do? As in other crimes, the state must still prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, the state must prove that you knowingly possessed or delivered the marijuana. Did you know what it was? Does it belong to someone else? Did someone else have access to the place where the marijuana was found? Case law on these questions can be very fact specific. An experienced criminal law attorney can help determine whether you have a viable defense.

As with other offenses, police must have probable cause to search your premises or make an arrest. Was an informant involved and how reliable was that informant? Did any search warrant properly describe the premises where the marijuana was found? Again, an experienced criminal attorney can evaluate the circumstances of your arrest to help prepare your defense.

Even if police followed proper procedure, and the evidence is strongly against you, an experienced attorney may be able to negotiate a more favorable plea agreement.

If you have questions about these charges or other criminal matters, please contact Matt Keenan at 847-568-0160 or email matt@mattkeenanlaw.com.

See our related DUI blog at http://duilawyerskokie.com.

(Besides Skokie, Matt Keenan also serves clients in the communities of Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Chicago, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Evanston, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Niles, Northbrook, Palatine, Park Ridge, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Wilmette and Winnetka.)

The post “BUT IT’S JUST A LITTLE WEED!”: WHEN YOU ARE CHARGED WITH POSSESSING AND/OR DEALING MARIJUANA appeared first on A SKOKIE CRIMINAL LAWYER EXPLAINS THE LAW 1-847-568-0160.