Hey, Senator Dawson and Representative Holt! It’s your boy, Murph. Didn’t I tell you in March that this wouldn’t turn out well? I’m talking about your unconstitutional efforts to restore the illegal practice of warrantless garbage searches in Iowa. You know, the police tactic that we struck down last year in State v. Wright? The […]
It goes without saying that postal service investigations rarely turn out well for those who receive marijuana products by mail. Drug dogs and search warrants will conspire to reveal the contents of suspicious packages before they reach the mailbox. At that point, the recipients face a Hobson’s choice: either snitch on friends or cop to […]
GRL recently put its knowledge of drug identification procedures to the test in a case involving alleged THC vape liquid. Police seized a vape cart during a traffic stop. Field testing of the liquid extract showed a positive color change indicating the possible presence of marijuana. Frequent readers of the GRL Law blog know that […]
Frequent visitors to the GRL Law Blog are no doubt familiar with our approach to defending medical marijuana charges. The drug defense lawyers recently raised this reciprocity defense in two separate cases. The first dealt with raw cannabis flower purchased in another state with a valid medical card. The other concerned edibles. In both cases, […]
Iowa law defines “drug paraphernalia” to include equipment used to inhale a controlled substance. However, the definition excepts those items used in combination with the lawful use of a controlled substance. How should the law treat smoking accessories used to inhale “medical cannabidiol” or the out-of-state equivalent? We put this question to the test recently […]
Frequent readers of our blog are certainly familiar with the firm’s reciprocity argument regarding medical marijuana. Normally, the State concedes this issue and voluntarily dismisses the charge. However, the Iowa State Patrol trooper involved here objected to a dismissal. So, we had the opportunity to finally pitch our argument to the district court. Our client […]
Earlier this year GRL convinced the Iowa Supreme Court to outlaw the police tactic of warrantless garbage searches in State v. Wright. We haven’t rested on our laurels since the ruling. Instead, we got to work in several counties where these trash rips resulted in felony charges. A recent case in southeastern Iowa was no […]
Do police have the right to search your car without a warrant if they see THC edibles in your center console during a traffic stop? The answer may surprise you. Suspected contraband in plain view does not necessarily provide probable cause to search the passenger compartment. Sure, the observation alone might provide PC under the […]
Nearly 7 out of 10 Americans nationwide support legalizing marijuana according to a recent Gallup poll in November 2021. This represents a five-fold increase since the company starting tracking support in 1969. The underlying data shows solid majorities of adults in major subgroups (gender, age, income and education level) support legalization.
One of the collateral consequences to a drug conviction is the prohibition against possessing a firearm or ammunition. Even if the charge does not involve a firearm. Did you know that Iowa law tracks federal law when it comes to marijuana and firearms? A drug conviction within the past 365 days will trigger the prohibition. […]
