Closing out 2024 on a high note, our firm recently secured the dismissal of criminal charges against our client, an innocent truck driver who was arrested and charged with marijuana trafficking based on his transportation of legal hemp products. The State dismissed the charges after we entered the case and prepared to file aggressive pretrial motions challenging the legality of the search and seizure and arguing that the prosecution was unconstitutional.
Our client was pulled over for a traffic stop on his way to Florida through Georgia, after which officers arrested our client and seized the entire shipment of hemp products, specifically “THCA flower,” based on their mistaken belief that the flower products were illegal marijuana. They did so despite being presented with a bill of lading and test results showing that our client was shipping compliant hemp products. As our firm has covered extensively, THCA products are controversial, with many states, including Georgia, passing laws to effectively ban such products by limiting the legal amount of THCA in products to 0.3%.
In total, officers seized 300 pounds of cannabis products. They then got the products tested by a private lab, which found that the products were over the 0.3% THC limit (though not by that much). That led to our client being indicted and charged with trafficking at least 10 pounds of marijuana under O.C.G.A. § 16-13-31(c), which carries a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and, for our client, would have meant his deportation from the U.S.
We were brought into the case based on our expertise with hemp cases, and we delivered. After reviewing the positive test results the State obtained and consulting our own expert, we filed several pretrial motions, including a motion to suppress evidence based on an unlawful traffic stop and a motion to dismiss based on the vagueness of the laws governing THCA flower.
Most importantly, we were able to explain to the prosecutor how the THCA flower products could have been compliant and under the limit at the time of the traffic stop. THCA “decarboxylates” over time and when exposed to even modest heat, and we argued that a jury would not be able to find that the products were over the limit before they were seized and sent off for third-party testing, let alone that our client knew they were.
Fortunately, the prosecutor recognized our expertise and willingness to go to trial and did the right thing–he agreed to dismiss the charges. As a result, our client can rest easy over the Holidays knowing that he won’t be a convicted felon or deported from this country.
If you or a loved one are facing criminal charges, contact our firm. We are ready to fight for you too.
