On December 18, 2018, Canada’s new impaired driving laws went into effect. Under the new laws, driving while intoxicated by drugs or alcohol is now considered a serious offense, placing it in the same legal category as murder, aggravated sexual assault, and drug trafficking.

Previous Law

Under the previous Canadian criminal code, DWI is considered an offense of “ordinary criminality” such that it carried a maximum punishment of five years. That meant individuals convicted of offenses of criminality in other countries, such as DWI, were deemed inadmissible for ten years. After five years one could apply for an “approval of rehabilitation” and prior to five years the only way to travel to Canada would be to obtain a Temporary Resident Permit.

New Law

Now that the new law has taken effect, the maximum punishment for a DWI conviction increases to 10 years as the crime is re-designated as one of “serious criminality”.  This will have several impacts on those with DWI or DWI related convictions who wish to travel into Canada. No longer will one convicted of DWI be automatically deemed rehabilitated after ten years.  They will still be allowed to seek “approval of rehabilitation” after five years but the designation of “serious criminality” means that the application and review process will likely become more difficult and restrictive.  The same will be true for those seeking a Temporary Resident Permit.

If you or a loved one is considering a visit to Canada and have a DWI or similar offense on their record from after December 2018, these new rules could make it much more difficult for them to enter the country. While the new law will not be applied retroactively, anyone with an old DWI on their record should still be prepared to face increased scrutiny and questioning at the border. Even George W. Bush had to get a special waiver to enter Canada because of his 1976 drunk driving conviction. Without legal assistance, travelers with a DWI on their records from December 2018 or later will likely find themselves unable to enter Canada.

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In November, Missouri voters approved Amendment 2 to permit state-licensed physicians to recommend marijuana for medical purposes to patients with serious illnesses and medical conditions.

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) answered some of the frequently asked questions Missourians have about medical marijuana.

Can I legally possess medical marijuana now?

No. Amendment 2 requires steps be taken before medical marijuana is available.

When will medical marijuana be available?

The Department will begin accepting applications for cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing facilities on August 3, 2019. Medical marijuana is expected to be available for purchase in January 2020, at the earliest.

How do I get medical marijuana?

Step 1: Visit a state-licensed physician (not a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant) to obtain a physician certification.
Step 2: Apply for an ID card from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (starting on July 4, 2019). The fee is $25.
Step 3: Once your application is approved and you receive your ID card (within 30 days of application), purchase medical marijuana from a state-licensed dispensary (not a pharmacy).

What medical conditions qualify for a medical marijuana certification?

• cancer;
• epilepsy;
• glaucoma;
• intractable migraines unresponsive to other treatment;
• chronic medical conditions that cause severe, persistent pain or persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to: multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, and Tourette’s syndrome;
• debilitating psychiatric disorders, including PTSD (if diagnosed by a state licensed psychiatrist;
• HIV or AIDS;
• a chronic medical condition that is normally treated with a prescription medicine that can lead to psychological or physical dependence, when a physician determines that medical marijuana could be effective in treating the condition and would be a safer alternative;
• any terminal illness;
• any other chronic, debilitating or other medical condition, including but not limited to hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, IBS, Crohn’s disease, Huntington’s disease, autism, neuropathies, sickle cell anemia, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia and wasting syndrome.

Important Points:

(1) People with an out-of-state medical marijuana card or a physician certification cannot legally possess medical marijuana in Missouri on December 6, 2018.

(2) You can grow your own marijuana plants for medical use, with the appropriate ID card and in an appropriate facility.

(3) Applications can be submitted beginning on August 3, 2019, for cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, seed-to-sale, or dispensing facility license. It takes 150 days after the application is received to receive the license, if approved.

(4) The fees for applying are pretty steep. A Cultivation Facilities application requires a $10,000 non-refundable application fee, and a $25,000 annual fee. Dispensary Facilities require a $6,000 non-refundable application fee, and a $10,000 annual fee. Medical marijuana-infused manufacturing facilities require a $6,000 non-refundable application fee and a $10,000 annual fee.

The FAQ provided by the DHSS clarifies some of the questions that Missourians have about medical marijuana. We will continue to monitor the development of medical marijuana in Missouri.
Source.

Earlier this month, medical marijuana was legalized in Missouri. Medical marijuana legalization threatens the use of drug dogs trained to detect marijuana in the state.

Are the Dog Days Over?

Any search of a vehicle must be supported by probable cause. The officer must be able to point to facts or circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe evidence or contraband relating to criminal activity will be found in the vehicle. Law enforcement in all states employ highly trained drug detection dogs to sniff vehicles stopped by police.

In Florida v. Harris (2013), the Supreme Court of the United States issued a unanimous decision that a drug dog’s training and certification are adequate indicators of his reliability, and a dog’s alert provides probable cause to search a vehicle.

Last year, the Colorado Court of Appeals set a new precedent for drug cases. A panel of three judges ruled that officers using drug dogs trained to sniff marijuana and other drugs need a stronger reason to search a car without permission.

The ruling stemmed from a 2015 case involving a narcotics dog, Kilo. Kilo alerted to the smell of illegal drugs from a man’s truck. But Kilo was trained to detect marijuana, among other drugs. The Colorado Court of Appeals overturned the man’s drug conviction, and ruled that Kilo could not tell the officers whether he smelled marijuana or another drug in the man’s truck.

Next month, the Colorado Supreme Court will review the Court of Appeals decision.

You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.

You can’t tell a Police K-9 who has been trained to detect marijuana to ignore marijuana just because it is legal now. Approximately 20% of all drug dogs in the United States are trained to detect marijuana. Now they are forced into early retirement. Older dogs, even if they undergo training to stop reacting to marijuana, would still face intense scrutiny to prove if they made a false hit. Any criminal defense attorney is going to ask, “Has your dog ever alerted to marijuana?”

In Canada, where retail marijuana sales began last month, 14 narcotics dogs were retired.

But New Dogs Can Learn New Tricks.

Some states, such as California, Oregon, Maine, and Vermont, have been training their drug dogs to detect cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and ecstasy. But not marijuana.

The President of Colorado’s Police K-9 Association revealed that most drug dogs cost between $6,000 to $10,000 alone, and that’s without training. Small departments just cannot afford to replace these high-priced marijuana-trained dogs with non-marijuana certified dogs. In the meantime, these small units can wait until they build up the funding to replace their drug dogs with non-marijuana certified dogs.

These small departments have a few other options. First, they can keep using their marijuana trained dogs and take their chances in court. Second, they can transfer the dog to places in the state where marijuana is still off limits, such as schools and jails. Third, they can work with law enforcement in states where marijuana is still illegal to put the drug dogs back on the road detecting marijuana.

It will be interesting to see whether law enforcement in Missouri replace their marijuana-trained dogs or keep using them. We will continue monitoring Missouri courts to see if they rule on this issue.

Source.

Adam appeared on KOLR 10 Daybreak this morning to discuss more on the 1st degree murder trial of Nicholas Godejohn. Click here  to view the story.

Watch Adam on KOLR 10 Daybreak as he discusses day three of the Nicholas Godejohn murder trial. Click here to view today’s report.

We are honored to announce two recent awards for the Law Office of Adam Woody.  Just this week, it was announced that the Law Office of Adam Woody has been named by the U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers in the Ninth Edition of the “Best Law Firms” rankings for the first time.  It was also announced that Adam Woody has once again been chosen for recognition in the 25th edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his high caliber work in the practice area of DUI/DWI Defense.  Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on rigorous peer-review survey methodology comprising more than 7.8 million confidential evaluations by top attorneys.

We are thrilled with our inclusion in these two prestigious lists and will continue to provide our area with the highest level criminal defense legal service available.

Under old Missouri law, both a serial rapist and a person charged with misdemeanor sexual misconduct (public urination in some cases) would be placed on the state’s Sex Offender Registry for life. The Registry’s burdensome reporting requirements applied to both people, including reporting to a police station four times every year. Everyone was lumped together. It was one of the toughest Registry laws in the country.

Under the old Missouri statute, if you were ordered to register federally, then you were always required to register under Missouri law for life. Period.

But it didn’t work the other way around. If you were eligible for removal from the federal registry, which was a different system with an easier method of removal, you did not have a method to get removed from the Missouri registry. Even though there was a method to get removed from the registry, appellate courts denied removal under the old Missouri statute.  That is no longer the cases, and thousands of people required to register previously are now immediately eligible for removal from the registry.

New Missouri Law

Senate Bill 665 became effective in August, and transformed Missouri’s system from being “one size fits all” to a “tiered system,” which mirrors the federal system.

Under Missouri’s new tiered system, a Tier I offense is eligible for removal after fifteen years of the date of conviction and twenty-five years for a Tier II offense. A Tier III offense is only eligible for removal if it was a juvenile adjudication and is eligible after twenty-five years from the date of conviction. Source.

After a person passes the fifteen or twenty-five year mark, they are not automatically removed from the registry. They must petition the court and a judge will make the final decision.  They must have a completely clean record during that time, and must have been faithfully registering pursuant to law.

Additionally, the new Missouri law changed the reporting requirements based on Tiers. Under the new law, Tier I offenders have to visit law enforcement annually, Tier II offenders will be required to update their information every six months, and Tier III offenders must check in four times per year.

Purpose of the Change

The sponsor of the new law, St. Charles Republican State Representative Kurt Bahr, explained that the purpose of the new law is to “create[] a little less burden on the local law enforcement agency so that they’re not spending all their time on these guys who are typically lower-threat people and they have more time to focus on the tier three offenders.” Source.

With these big changes to Missouri’s sex offender registry laws, there will likely be a huge spike in the number of low-level sex offenders who request removal from the registry in Southwest Missouri.

Springfield Attorney Brad Bradshaw wants to make sure his medical marijuana initiative, Amendment 3, is the only one voters see on ballots for Missouri’s November election.

Bradshaw has filed suit to remove two other medical marijuana initiatives from the ballot, but time may not be on his side. Bradshaw challenged the signature count for Proposition C and the legality of the signatures for Amendment 2.

A Cole County Judge in Jefferson City dismissed the lawsuit against Amendment 2. Bradshaw has appealed that decision to the Western District Court of Appeals.

Criminal Defense Attorney Adam Woody was interviewed by KOLR 10 and noted Bradshaw’s time constraints for challenging the initiatives. The election is only around 8 weeks away. It could take several weeks to get the case before the Western District. If Bradshaw loses in the Western District, he plans to take it to the Missouri Supreme Court, which would take even longer.  The ballots have to be prepared a couple of weeks in advance so Bradshaw really only has about 6 weeks to work the case all the way through the appellate system…an incredibly short amount of time to accomplish such a feat.

Bradshaw’s Amendment 3 is self-funded with $1 million dollars, self-written, and riddled with controversy. It would create a Biomedical Research and Development Institute.  That research institute would then get 15% of the total sales of medicinal marijuana statewide, which is the highest tax on such a product by far across the 31 states who have legalized marijuana for medicinal use.  The head of that Board must have both a law degree and a medical degree and the head of the board hand selects the other board members.  Obviously, Bradshaw is one of the few people in the State to have a J.D. and M.D., so he would likely plans to be named as the head of the board.   Source.

Amendment 2 is sponsored by New Approach Missouri, and taxes medicinal marijuana at 4%.  Those tax dollars would go toward state-sponsored or not-for-profit veterans organizations.

Right now, all three initiatives are on the ballot and it looks like it will stay that way. Stay tuned for more developments on the medical marijuana initiatives.

Click here to watch the full interview.