Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
Criminal Defense in Utah
Dain Smoland, Attorney at Law PLLC
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← Carbon County Utah Marijuana Charges
Park City “Minor in Possession” Enforcement →

Your California Medical Marijuana Card in Utah

April 22, 2016 | Filed under: Drug Laws, DUI Laws, Marijuana Laws and tagged with: California, Card, DUI, Marijuana, Medical

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Probably once a week, I get asked if a California Medical Marijuana Card makes any difference in Utah. In a word, no.  A medical card from a CA doctor does not allow you to have marijuana in Utah, or marijuana paraphernalia. Arguably, it does not even make it legal to have the chemical residue of marijuana in your body, if you are driving (see my page on DUI Metabolite).

That being said, there are some situations where it may help: when negotiating plea deals with prosecutors, it can sometimes help me get better terms for the deal if my client is a resident of a state where she uses legally (either a recreational state or a medical state and she has a card), and they were just passing through Utah without using. For instance, some courts are big on sending marijuana defendants to treatment. But I think most prosecutors and many judges agree that there’s not much point in making someone to do “treatment” for a substance that’s legal where they live, and that they will probably continue to use. Also, as mentioned above, it’s “arguably” not a defense to our DUI metabolite law that the defendant used the substance under a doctor’s orders, but that means it arguably is a defense too. In short, the issue hasn’t been decided definitively by our upper courts, and until it is, defense attorneys like me will continue to try and convince local judges that Utah should not criminalize behavior in other states, that has no real effect on us here, such as when someone drives into Utah with the inactive metabolites of marijuana in their system.

There are also some situations where having (or rather, showing off) your medical marijuana card can hurt you. Many crafty police officers, when they see your California license plates, will ask if “you happen to have one of those medical pot cards”. This is a question you should probably not answer, if you do. Many officers will understand this as “probable cause” or at least “reasonable suspicion” that you currently have marijuana, and it will make your traffic stop turn into something much more unpleasant. It’s never a great idea to lie to a police officer, but it’s entirely within your rights to say “you know, I feel this situation has gone far beyond the reason you stopped me [for speeding], and I don’t feel comfortable answering any more questions without my attorney present.” For more information about handling an encounter with the cops on the side of the road, see my post: The “Consensual” Police Encounter.

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← Carbon County Utah Marijuana Charges
Park City “Minor in Possession” Enforcement →

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Some Posts from My Blog

  • Utah Legalizes Medical Marijuana! Kinda! Sort Of!
  • Utah Eases Expungement Eligibility, Especially for Prior Drug Convictions!
  • Park City “Minor in Possession” Enforcement
  • Your California Medical Marijuana Card in Utah
  • Carbon County Utah Marijuana Charges

Courts Where I Take Cases

I am licensed to practice criminal law anywhere in Utah, but my office is in Salt Lake City so I focus my defense practice on Salt Lake County and the surrounding counties: Weber, Davis, Utah, Summit, Wasatch, Tooele.

That includes any of the state, city, or federal courts located in Salt Lake City, West Jordan, South Jordan, West Valley, Heber, Park City, Provo, Ogden, Farmington, Bountiful, Holladay, Cottonwood Heights, Murray, Millcreek, South Salt Lake, Grantsville, Tooele, Orem, American Fork, Sandy, Draper, Centerville, Layton, Kaysville, and anywhere else within an hour's drive of Salt Lake. I'll also go down to Carbon County (Price and Helper), because I like that drive!

For locations in Utah outside that area, just contact me and we'll talk about it.

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