Penn State Possession of Drug Paraphernalia Charge Dismissed
Pipe Was a Pipe, Not Drug Paraphernalia
A person can be charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia in Pennsylvania for possessing an otherwise ordinary item if it is used or intended to be used with illegal drugs. However, prosecutors must still prove that the item actually qualifies as drug paraphernalia under Pennsylvania law. In one Penn State case, Attorney Jason S. Dunkle successfully challenged a drug paraphernalia charge after laboratory testing proved that a pipe did not contain marijuana residue.
Penn State Student Charged with Drug Paraphernalia
A Penn State student was walking near the East Halls residence area on the University Park campus with two friends when a Penn State police officer claimed to smell marijuana. The officer stopped the group and conducted an investigative detention. The officer instructed the students to empty their pockets, and the client gave the officer a package of legal synthetic smoking material and a smoking pipe. The officer performed a field test on residue inside the pipe, and the residue tested positive for marijuana. Based on that preliminary result, the client was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia under 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(32).
Drug Field Tests Are Not Always Reliable
The client consistently maintained that marijuana had never been smoked in the pipe and that the field test result was inaccurate. At the first court appearance, called the Preliminary Hearing, State College criminal defense attorney Jason S. Dunkle explained to the prosecutor that drug field tests are well known for producing false positives and should not be relied upon as definitive proof of the presence of a controlled substance. Because of these concerns, the prosecutor agreed to submit the pipe to the Pennsylvania State Police crime laboratory for forensic analysis. The laboratory’s testing confirmed what the client had maintained from the beginning: the residue in the pipe was NOT marijuana.
When Does a Pipe Become Drug Paraphernalia?
Pennsylvania’s drug paraphernalia law is broad, but it does not automatically make every pipe or common household object illegal. Many everyday items can become drug paraphernalia only if they are used with controlled substances. Examples include:
- A water bottle or soda can used as a homemade bong.
- A sandwich bag or pill bottle used to store illegal drugs.
- A pipe used to smoke marijuana or another controlled substance.
Without evidence connecting the item to illegal drug use, the object itself is not drug paraphernalia. After the laboratory determined that the pipe contained no marijuana residue, there was no evidence that it had been used to smoke an illegal substance. Attorney Dunkle argued that the Commonwealth could no longer prove an essential element of the offense. The Centre County District Attorney ultimately agreed with Attorney Dunkle that they did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute the charge, so the prosecutor dismissed the charge. Attorney Dunkle then successfully petitioned the court to expunge the criminal record.
Charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia in Pennsylvania?
Attorney Dunkle has successfully challenged and obtained the dismissal of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Possession of Controlled Substance charges. If you have been charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia or another criminal offense, an experienced criminal defense attorney can evaluate the legality of the police investigation, challenge unreliable evidence, and pursue dismissal whenever the facts and the law support it. Contact Attorney Dunkle via email.