Many people are arrested for drug possession. If this happens to you, you may be completely innocent of drug-related charges. If you have been arrested for drug possession, check out these four common legal defenses to better protect yourself.

Unwitting Possession

Unwitting possession means you either didn't know you were in possession of drugs or you didn't know the substance was drugs. For example, if someone stores some drugs in the back of your car without your knowledge, you could get arrested. If a police officer pulls you over for speeding, reckless driving, etc., and they see the drugs, they may insist on a search, which can make you look guilty.

Similarly, you may be fully aware of a package in the backseat, but you don't know it contained drugs. For example, the person who gave you the drugs may have stored cocaine in a bag of flour. If you and your attorney can prove you didn't know anything about the drugs, you should be able to win your case.

Lack of Possession or Missing Drugs

If you choose the lack of possession defense, you basically claim you had no drugs. Perhaps you do have a bag of flour in your car, but it's in a plastic bag instead of an actual flour bag. An officer may find this suspicious and may arrest you. If you tell the office the substance isn't drugs, they can easily test it to verify, so your case will likely be dropped.

Similarly, even if drugs were found on your person, they may get lost during the transfer of evidence. If this happens, you may be able to argue that there were never any drugs, and since the physical evidence will be missing, the courts may have no proof against you.

Medical Exception

Some controlled substances have medical exceptions. In Oklahoma, recreational cannabis is illegal, but medical marijuana is legal (if you have a medical marijuana card). Therefore, you can legally have cannabis on your person. If you can prove you have a medical marijuana card, you shouldn't even get arrested.

If you don't have a medical marijuana card, but you can prove you have a qualifying illness, the courts may reduce your sentence. 

Of course, even though medical marijuana is legal, that doesn't mean you can have as much as you want. Oklahoma laws limit the amount of cannabis you can have to 1.5 ounces or less. Therefore, if you are found with five ounces of cannabis, you can be arrested and may even be accused of attempting to sell or distribute the product illegally.

Police Abuse of Power

Finally, in some cases, the police may abuse when they search for drugs. For example, if an officer pulls you over for speeding, but they don't see any drugs or anything suspicious through your windows, they can't order you to let them search your car. Police have to have a valid reason for such a search.

Another abuse of power is entrapment. In other words, an office could manipulate the situation to ensure someone will buy, use, or possess drugs so that they can arrest them. This may be as simple as an undercover officer walking up to you and asking if you want to buy drugs. On the other hand, if you approach an undercover officer and request drugs, it's not usually considered entrapment.

Your attorney is your best ally in creating a coherent, strong defense against drug-related charges. If you have been arrested for drug possession and you want to know what you can do next, contact us at Kanehl Law Firm PLLC today.