QUESTION:
A car that my son was a passenger in was pulled over for DUI, he was searched & they found 2 syringes, clean, package unopened & unused. No drugs were found. He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia. Can he be prosecuted for this or is there any good defense?
ANSWER:
He should be able to beat this fairly easily. HS 11364 was recently amended to allow for the possession of an unlimited amount of syringes provided they were obtained from (among other places) a pharmacy. Over the counter sales count as a pharmacy and the statute does not disfavor recreation drug use. It’s an affirmative defense, so he was properly charged and arrested – but he should be able to beat the case with a single declaration. Don’t let him plead guilty.
