Lynnwood Drug Paraphernalia Defense Attorney

Mandatory Minimum Penalties

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia is a misdemeanor in Washington State. The maximum penalty is a $1000 fine and 90 days in jail.

Possession of Drug Paraphernalia is one of the few misdemeanor crimes that carry a mandatory jail sentence. The mandatory minimum sentence is 1 day in jail and a $250 fine.

Types of Drug Paraphernalia

The legal definition of drug paraphernalia encompasses a wide variety of drug-related products.

In Washington State, this includes: 
"All equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance." RCW 69.50.440

Basically, the long definition above can be summed up as anything used to:

• Ingest
• Smoke
• Transport
• Carry
• Conceal
• Or otherwise make use of illegal drugs

The following can result in a charge of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia:

• Pot pipes
• Tinfoil
• Needles
• Bongs
• Scales
• Film canisters used to secret drugs

Charges for possession of drug paraphernalia should not be treated lightly. A charge could adversely affect the rest of your life. Searching for a lawyer for your drug crime case in Lynnwood, WA?

Possible Defenses to Possession of Drug Paraphernalia

• The Paraphernalia Was Not Yours - A common defense to Possession of Drug Paraphernalia is that the paraphernalia was not yours. Mere proximity to drug paraphernalia is not enough under Washington case law to convict someone of possession. If you are a passenger in a car and are simply near the paraphernalia, we may be above to defeat the prosecutor’s claim that you were in constructive possession of the paraphernalia. The owner of a car is deemed to be in constructive possession of anything in the car. If you are not the owner of the car, you may not be responsible for the contents.
• You did not know the paraphernalia was in the car - If you are the registered owner of the car, we may be able to rely on the defense of unwitting possession. Just because the item was in your vehicle, we may be able to show that someone else put in there without your knowledge. This is a more difficult defense to assert, but with the right fact pattern it can be done.
• The item in question is not drug paraphernalia - Finally, simply possessing an item of suspected paraphernalia may not be enough to convict you. Possessing a plain pipe, or baggy, or piece of foil is not in itself illegal. The prosecutor must also show that you intended to use the paraphernalia with a controlled substance. If the piece of paraphernalia has no drug residue on it or has never been used, we may be able to defeat the charge outright.

How Can Drug Paraphernalia Lawyer Lance R. Fryrear Help You?

Charged with a drug crime in Lynnwood, WA? Our lead attorney prosecuted Possession of Drug Paraphernalia cases for more than 7 years. He has been defending Possession of Drug Paraphernalia cases for nearly two decades.

Because there is such a wide range of offenses under "possession of drug paraphernalia," it is vital that you contact us at the onset of the case, preferably right after the arrest.

Your case should be assessed as soon as possible to determine what the circumstances are, what the factors regarding the case are and how to best proceed based on the charges.

Even if we do not have an outright defense above, we may still be able to negotiate a positive result in your case and keep you out of jail and the charge off of your record.