Many people inaccurately assume that Illinois’s status as a state with a medical marijuana exemption means that fighting drug charges in Illinois is easy. However, while medical marijuana does provide leniency to those who qualify for it, other types of drug possession charges do not often get a soft response from the prosecution.
If you recently received drug charges, you should seriously consider every option you have available to fight the charges and protect your future. Drug charges often incite unfair treatment well after you serve your time or pay the associated fines. Having them on your record may mean that you face trouble finding work or even finding a place to live. Few nonviolent crimes stir up similar conflicts so easily.
No matter what the nature of your charges, you stand a much better chance of fighting and even defeating the charges with the help of an experienced attorney. You may have more options available than you realize today, but the longer you wait, the fewer your options become.
How did the police gather the evidence against you?
If you’re facing drug possession charges, the police collected evidence against you at some point. You may have an opportunity to examine the circumstances of the arrests and gathering of evidence in order to claim that the police officer did not follow proper procedures.
If the officer did not perform his or her duties correctly, specifically if the officer searched your vehicle without your permission, you may claim that the arrest violated your civil rights, for instance.
Furthermore, you may have grounds to question the nature of the evidence or your relationship to it.
Examine the evidence
Simply because the police claim that you carried drugs doesn’t mean they can actually prove it. You can begin by calling for the drugs in question to undergo laboratory testing to determine its composition.
This maneuver places a number of pressures on the prosecution. First, the prosecution must produce the actual drugs they claim you were arrested for possessing. If the prosecution cannot produce the evidence because of a clerical error or because an officer removed it from the evidence room, then the charges may have trouble sticking.
Furthermore, the test results of the composition of the drugs allegedly taken from your possession should match the charges you received. If the police officer misidentified the substance, then the charges may likewise face difficulty sticking around.
Get the help you need to fight
If you are ready to start fighting against these charges, don’t waste precious time and resources building your defense on weak foundations. Be sure to seek out professional legal counsel to guide you through this process and keep your rights protected.