I represented a couple last week who were charged with possession of marijuana (under 50 grams) and possession of drug paraphernalia arising out of Mendham Township, New Jersey. My clients, a young couple, were pulled over for a broken tail light and the officer allegedly saw pieces of marijuana on the floor of the vehicle. He collected same along with a plastic water bottle with alleged marijuana residue in it and my clients were charged with marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

When I received the discovery, the alleged marijuana that was collected came back negative. In every marijuana case, the State must send the drugs to the State Police lab for testing to prove that the defendant was in fact in possession of marijuana. In this case, the State was unable to prove possession of marijuana because the lab result from the State Police came back negative for any type of controlled dangerous substance (CDS). Because the lab report was negative for marijuana, it was impossible for the State to prove that the water bottle was used as drug paraphernalia and that charge was dismissed as well.