Drug Paraphernalia Possession

Strong Legal Defense for Drug Charges

Have the police arrested you for having been in possession of a pipe, syringe, or any other paraphernalia for drug use? California law criminalizes the possession of drug paraphernalia, even if no drugs are currently in your possession. Our drug crime defense attorneys at Second Chances Law Group is ready, willing, and able to represent you and fight for a total dismissal or reduction of your charges.

How Is Possession of Paraphernalia Defined?

Possession of drug paraphernalia involves being in possession of “an opium pipe or any device, contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia used for unlawfully injecting or smoking a controlled substance.” For the prosecutor to obtain your conviction for having possessed drug paraphernalia, he or she must demonstrate, beyond a reasonable doubt, several different elements of this offense.

The elements that must be proven include:

• That you were in possession of drug paraphernalia
• That you exercised or exerted control over or you had the right to control the paraphernalia
• That you had knowledge of the presence of the paraphernalia
• That you had knowledge of its nature i.e., that it was drug paraphernalia

Effective Legal Defenses & Exceptions

There are a number of different specified groups of people who cannot be prosecuted for possession of drug paraphernalia. These people include dentists, doctors, manufacturers, pharmacists, podiatrists, police officers, retailers, wholesalers, and veterinarians. If you were arrested and your profession falls into one of these categories, we may be able to get the charges dropped immediately by using this clear exception defense.

A few examples of effective defense strategies we may use in paraphernalia possession include:

• Police uncovered the paraphernalia through an illegal search and seizure
• You had no knowledge of the presence of the drug paraphernalia
• You had no knowledge that the item constituted paraphernalia