My son was charged with Simple Possession of Marijuana. He was in a car with other kids when they got pulled over for not using a blinker. The boy in the front seat passed the joint they were smoking into the backseat to my son. He then threw it out the window. Nobody was charged but my son, the driver had no licence and it was not even his car. The other kids were sent home. I spoke to the Magistrate office where he will have his hearing and they said he will loose his licence (reg) and will have to go to PTI (a pre trial program for first offenders). She said he will get his license back when he completes it. He was not driving and I don't know why they would take his license, how is he suppose to get to his classses and to work?

Hello again jg:

Thanks for explaining.

I don't think the magistrate told you that exact thing. If they did, they shouldn't have. Which brings me to my first point. Don't get your legal advice from clerks. Had they given you the proper information, the following caveat would have been included: IF YOUR SON IS CONVICTED, blah, blah, blah…..

He doesn't have to go to any program and he won't lose his license unless he's convicted. In my view, with a good attorney, the chances of his being convicted, given the scenario you pointed out, are very small.

Don't speak with the cops or the court. Hire the best lawyer you can afford.

excon

PS> By the way, a conviction for simple possession could have very serious long term implications well beyond the initial conviction, and PTI. As it stands now, a person convicted of possession cannot participate in ANY college loan program, and it goes downhill from there.

Hi this is tiffany3669, me and some friends were sitting outside of some other friend apartment complex. We had been smoking and the police pulled up on us in the car. Me and friend the back and the other was in the front seat. (the car was parked) anyway the poliice charged us with simple possession but did not find anything and we all got community , service, aa meetings and drug classes. One of my friends has to get her lience bk before we go bk to court and she wasn't even driving. What can we do to beat this because none of this makes sense.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3445 Go to NORML's web site and find a good lawyer there. It's criminal how the country treats pot smokers. They don't like it so they just soon put the "offender" behind bars with violent criminals and rapist, endangering the life of the pot smoker as well. Then they deny you liberties made to help citizens get ahead, further pushing the "criminal" into the underground. I feel for you and your son. This country and it's laws are crap! Good luck.