Weed Lawyer in Omaha: 240 Pounds of Marijuana Found on 4/20

As a weed lawyer in Omaha, Daniel Stockmann sees all kinds of uncanny coincidences, but one of the latest cases from southwest Nebraska is a little too odd not to share. Lincoln officials made a huge bust, on one of the most notorious days for cannabis aficionados. As is the situation with quite a few of the cases the weed lawyer in Omaha sees, this was another drug stop involving an out-of-state driver.

The Stop was for “Improper Passing”

The content put out in our Omaha weed lawyer blog repeatedly points out the lengths law enforcement will go to in order to have a “valid” reason for conducting a stop. It’s no secret that local and state officials intentionally target drivers from other states and then look for excuses to pull someone over. In this situation, the unlucky Phoenician was pulled over for improper passing, though similar cases involve unsafe lane changes, failure to signal, driving with a broken headlight, following another vehicle too close, and any number of very minor (and largely opinion-based) infractions.

240.5 Pounds of Marijuana was Seized

The stop was conducted by a state trooper slightly west of Culbertson in Hitchcock County on Highway 6. A canine was called in from the Red Willow County Sheriff’s Department to sniff, and it indicated the presence of an illegal drug. Officers searched the man’s SUV and found 240.5 pounds of marijuana. Interestingly, his home state of Arizona does allow marijuana, though not in such quantities and under very controlled circumstances. Here in Nebraska, he was hit with a possession with intent to deliver charge. His passenger, an unnamed female, was released without charges.

There are Many Potential Defenses

There are obviously a lot of details in this case that have not been released yet, but there are plenty of potential defenses. An experienced attorney may be able to call into question the presence of the canine. Having a drug dog there is perfectly legal, but if officers detained the man for an extensive period of time while waiting for the animal to arrive from a neighboring county, a violation of the man’s civil rights could have occurred. If proven, this could result in all the evidence being sealed and the case being thrown out. The circumstances of the stop are also questionable, but there are a myriad of alternatives that could well be used as a defense in this case, depending on the circumstances.