Is Burning Marijuana in a Car a Misdemeanor

A common question our White Plains criminal defense lawyers hear is when is smoking pot a misdemeanor. Usually the mere possession of marijuana is only a violation. However, when someone is smoking pot in a public place or openly displays it, it is a class b misdemeanor.

In these cases, the question often becomes what exactly is a public place. Certainly a person’s home is not a public place, but bars and even clubs are public places. A question that often comes up is whether a person’s car is a public place. A recent New York Appellate Court decision held that when a car is on a public street or highway, that is a public place. So when people roll or smoke marijuana in their vehicles, New York now considers the car to be a public place if the car is on a public street or highway, therefore anyone arrested smoking marijuana will face a criminal charge.

Our Westchester criminal lawyers have successfully handled drug and marijuana charges in all of the Westchester Criminal Courts including White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Rye, Sleepy Hollow, Greenburgh, Elmsford, Valhalla, New Rochelle, Mt Pleasant, Armonk, Port Chester, Bronxville, Scarsdale, Hartsdale, Rye, and Mount Kisco.