What Happens After a Marijuana Charge From a Traffic Stop

Attorney Answer

Expect a misdemeanor possession charge — and, if this is your first offense, expect that it can very likely be resolved without a conviction on your record. The bigger problem is that you already gave the trooper his case.

W. Va. Code § 60A-4-401(c) makes it unlawful to knowingly or intentionally possess a controlled substance without a valid prescription. A violation of that subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by confinement in jail of not less than 90 days nor more than six months, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both. Two grams sits at the bottom of that range, and a jail sentence for a first offense of that size is not the usual outcome.

The provision that matters most to you is W. Va. Code § 60A-4-407. A first offense involving less than 15 grams of marijuana may be eligible for conditional discharge instead of a conviction — the mechanism by which a first-time case can end without a criminal conviction on your record if you complete the court's terms. Raise it early; it is not something that gets applied automatically at the end.

The grinder and the bong may support a separate paraphernalia charge. Your citation will name the exact code sections you are charged under. Read it rather than assuming.

One hard note about the search. You told the officer you had marijuana. That admission, standing on its own, is likely to give probable cause to search regardless of what the odor did or did not justify — which means the suppression argument that might have existed here is considerably weaker than it would have been had you said nothing. Honesty is a good instinct; at a traffic stop it is also evidence.

What you can do

1. Keep your citation, or photograph it, and bring it to your lawyer. The code sections, the court and the appearance date are all printed on it. Everything else depends on those four facts. 2. Appear on that date without fail. Missing it can produce a warrant and a separate failure-to-appear charge, and it can cost you the conditional-discharge option entirely. 3. Say nothing further to anyone about the stop — no additional statements to officers, no explaining, no posting about it. 4. Ask a lawyer about conditional discharge under W. Va. Code § 60A-4-407 before your case is resolved, not after. This is the single decision that determines whether you carry a drug conviction. 5. Have counsel review the stop and search anyway. What the trooper observed, what he said, and when he said it still matter, and the file may not match your memory. 6. Ask specifically about collateral consequences before agreeing to any resolution — professional licenses, employment screening, student aid, immigration status, and driving privileges. A plea that looks cheap in the courtroom can be expensive afterward.