Iowa judge gives man parole for marijuana trafficking, jail for drunk driving

There are reports that hundreds of thousands of marijuana arrests take place in the United States each year, but that doesn’t mean every case ends in conviction. Furthermore, the fact that tons of people are dragged into jail for marijuana violations every day is not an indication that prisons are filling up with potency abusers.

Even in prohibited areas – that is, states where marijuana is still a banned substance – prosecutors and judges are sometimes more relaxed about people arrested for weed. In some cases, marijuana offenses are punished less harshly than alcohol-related crimes.

In Iowa, recently a judge sentenced a marijuana offender to suspended sentence for his indiscretions. Nor was the case a simple possession charge. No, Nathan Ray Veal-Cox, 21, has been convicted of possession of a pound of marijuana with intent to deliver. For those unfamiliar with the legal jargon, it means that the police, prosecutor and court thought Veal was a drug dealer – one of those insidious fiends the authorities want behind bars. It turned out they were probably right.

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It’s hard to argue that Veal-Cox wasn’t at least a low-level marijuana dealer. When police stopped him along State Highway 17 in March, an officer discovered a pound of cannabis, an unloaded pistol, ammunition, stacks of cash, a digital scale, and other contraband items believed to be related to the illegal sale of marijuana. Veal-Cox was dead.

RELATED: Cross State Lines On Marijuana, Take Your Child Away

So how did law enforcement discover all of those ganja goodies that ultimately gave Veal-Cox a prime ticket to the criminal justice system? When the officer approached the vehicle, he could smell marijuana. When asked about the smell, Veal admitted smoking marijuana. That was enough to determine a likely cause for a search, and the rest is history.

Of course, whether it’s illegal in Iowa or legal California to smoke weed on the streets is illegal. It is a criminal offense that usually results in arrest and charges of drug driving (DUID). But Veal-Cox didn’t just smoke weed. That night he went broke. He also admitted to law enforcement that he had drunk a little.

RELATED: Who Really Gets Blown Up For Marijuana Possession?

According to Iowa state law, the marijuana misdemeanor was Veal-Cox alone enough to put him in jail. Possessing a pound of weed in Hawkeye State is a crime with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fines of up to $ 7,500. Throw in the gun and various other utensil charges, etc., and Veal probably spent the summer fearing that he would be having Thanksgiving dinner at the Slammer this year. But his fate wouldn’t be so bad.

Earlier this week, Veal-Cox, who pleaded guilty on charges in July, went before the judge on trial. The result was as good as it could get for someone branded a drug dealer. The judge gave him three to five years’ supervised probation (that is, he must meet with a probation officer and undergo a random drug test at least once a month) for the marijuana possession charge. However, if Veal-Cox completes his probationary period without further violations, the drug conviction will be erased from his file – as if it never happened.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the judge wasn’t too keen on Veal-Cox driving around his system with alcohol. He was sentenced to two days in prison and a fine of US $ 625 for this offense.