Can I still get drug possession charges? Often people wonder if they can be prosecuted in Utah for having an illegal drug in their system, even if they ingested such in a different state. In words, they often ask us, “Am I safe to have an illegal drug in my system if I consumed it …
Am I Safe to Have an Illegal Drug in My System if I Consumed it in Another State? Read More »
Many argue that smoking marijuana is bad for your lungs, among other things, and such arguments have caused many Utah legislators to feel that smoking marijuana should remain illegal in the Beehive State. In fact, CBS News recently reported that “smoking marijuana irritates the airways, triggers cough and phlegm production, and could be especially dangerous …
In our last post we discussed the appeal of a California man who was arrested in Utah for marijuana possession. The arrest followed a Summit County traffic stop during a saturation patrol by the Utah Highway Patrol. UHP officers heard from California officials that the marijuana crop would be harvested that November, so they decided …
Court: UHP Stop Did Not Violate Drug Trafficker’s Rights Read More »
An alleged drug trafficker recently made an interesting constitutional argument while appealing his drug trafficking charges. Utah Highway Patrol officers allegedly found 105 pounds of marijuana in the man’s car after it was stopped on a rural stretch of Interstate 80 in Summit County in November of 2008. The UHP was conducting a high volume …
Drug Trafficker Makes Constitutional Claim After Traffic Stop Read More »
A California man was recently convicted in connection with a 2012 marijuana grow in the southern Utah mountains. Authoities say that the marijuana grow was in Iron County on land controlled by the U.S. Forest Service. There were approximately 4,211 marijuana plants found in the grow area, where trees were cut down in the forest …
Man sentenced for a Southern Utah marijuana grow Read More »
The Utah Highway Patrol recently reported an increase in Utah drunk driving arrests during the New Years’ Eve holiday. UHP officers arrested at least 107 for drunk driving between Dec. 28 and Jan. 1 which is up from 93 DUI arrests during the same period last year. The extra DUI enforcement shifts were funded by …
UHP Reports Increase in Utah NYE Drunk Driving Arrests Read More »
Drug crimes are serious when anyone faces them, but a drug charge may be particularly damaging for a college athlete. Student athletes tend to have some of the most high profile drug cases and a recent spate of marijuana possession allegations has many wondering whether there is a drug problem in some college athletic programs. …
We often get asked if a person can be convicted for drug possession if they were merely near the illegal drugs that were found. For example, let’s assume three friends are in a car, Joe, Cindy and Parker. They get pulled over for “swerving”. The officer claims he smells marijuana (because of his superbionic nose), …
We often get asked this question: Can the police in Utah pull a person over just because the passengers are young, have out of state plates, or because they are driving on I-80 near Wendover, Tooele, Salt Lake City or Park City, Utah? (Of course, we also hear this about Moab, Vernal, St. George, Cedar …
Fairly recently in State v. Duran, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that police officers who smelled the odor of burning marijuana coming from a residence were not justified in searching the residence under and “evidence-destruction” part of the “exigent-circumstances” exception to warrant requirement. In other words, sometimes that police can enter a home without a …
Can the Police Enter a Home if They Smell Burning Marijuana? Read More »