Can I be charged with possession of marijuana in Ohio if I’m a passenger in someone’s car and marijuana is found? What does “possession” mean under Ohio’s marijuana laws

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

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UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021Fact Checked

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

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UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

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It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021

Advertiser Disclosure

It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right legal decisions.

We strive to help you make confident insurance and legal decisions. Finding trusted and reliable insurance quotes and legal advice should be easy. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.

UPDATED: Jul 15, 2021Fact Checked

You can be charged with possession of marijuana in Ohio if it is found in a car in which you are a passenger. But if the marijuana did not belong to you, and was not found on your person, you may have a good defense against conviction. From a driver’s perspective, you can be charged with possession of marijuana if it is found in the car, even if not belonging to you.

This quirk is due to the way the law defines possession. In Ohio, as in other states, possession can be either physical or constructive. Physical possession is, of course, having the object on your person. Constructive possession, however, allows for a much broader interpretation of possession, including situations in which the object is under your control, even if not on your person. Examples of constructive possession include having the marijuana in your closet, in the trunk of your car, or even having another person carry it while following your orders. Many times, a case will come down to whether or not the defendant has constructive possession of the marijuana. A good Ohio criminal defense attorney will know the details of constructive possession in Ohio and help you defend against your marijuana charge.

Follow this link for more information about Ohio Marijuana Laws and Ohio Medical Marijuana Laws

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Jeffrey Johnson

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Jeffrey Johnson is a legal writer with a focus on personal injury. He has worked on personal injury and sovereign immunity litigation in addition to experience in family, estate, and criminal law. He earned a J.D. from the University of Baltimore and has worked in legal offices and non-profits in Maryland, Texas, and North Carolina. He has also earned an MFA in screenwriting from Chapman Univer...

Insurance Lawyer

Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about legal topics and insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything legal and insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by experts.

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