@gouf78 would love it if you would post the ACLU video link when you find it. TIA.
A final thought. The time to show these videos and discuss stop and search procedures with your kids is when they are indeed kids, perhaps aged 13 to 15. If they are old enough for a drivers license, they are certainly old enough to know what to do if stopped.
His anxiety will be enhanced in a Texas prison and there won’t be any self-medicating there. Remind him of that when he thinks he wants to violate his probation.
A synthetically derived THC is available in a prescription pill and has been for years (Marinol). It’s used to treat nausea. My grandpa took it when he was being treated for cancer. Pretty sure no one told him it was the active ingredient in marijuana.
I am not a Texas lawyer, but I know how to research law in other state and simply do not believe that is true. I do not know of any Texas law that would make “ingesting marijuana while on misdemeanor probation” into a felony. It’s a probation violation, and probation violation by itself does not increase the level of the underlying offense.
I could be mistaken, but I’ve never heard of any such thing and can’t find anything at all in Texas statutes that would support that claim.
Honestly, if that were true, it would make no sense at all for your son to accept probation. If violating probation on a misdemeanor could somehow result in a felony conviction, it really would be better for the defendant to plead guilty and refuse probation. Because a felony conviction on one’s record is magnitudes worse than a misdemeanor conviction.
That may very well be local practice in Waco, but again – the law that is written on the books in Texas does NOT specify any minimum sentence whatsoever for possession of less than 2 oz. of marijuana. There is a 72 hour minimum for driving under the influence of marijuana – but no minimum for mere possession. So no, the judge’s hands were not tied, whatever he claimed.
I wish your son had gotten a local lawyer 5 months ago. I’m sure that the Dallas lawyer did his best, but its hard to walk into a courtroom not knowing what to expect.
None of this may matter in the long run. When it comes down to it, the Judge has the power in the courtroom and if the Judge chose to say something outrageous in order to scare some sense into your son… well, maybe that’s what your son needed to hear. But if your son ends up with a probation violation, it’s going to be another big mess. So I do agree with the suggestion that you might want to get a local lawyer on board now, just in case. You need to hope for the best but plan for the worst.
@grandscheme I was actually just reading about CBD oil in relation to cancer and came across its potential for treating anxiety. I was struck by the fact that your S’s self medicating may have been surprisingly on point!
If your S got a prescription for CBD oil from a doctor, I wonder if that would show up on a drug test as having ingested marijuana, and thus as a parole violation? It seems as if it might be a treatment option that he would agree to more easily than drugs such as ativan.
" I wonder if that would show up on a drug test as having ingested marijuana, and thus as a parole violation? "
Depends on the amount of CBD oil ingested and the specific type of lab test being done.
Right now I’m not aware of any states that have anxiety listed as an acceptable medical use of marijuana. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be prescribed.
This is timely, looks like the FDA has just approved an anti-seizure drug based on CBD.
http://time.com/5321299/fda-approves-marijuana-drug-epilepsy/
Epilepsy is an approved use in most states who approve MJ for medical use already (whole lot of criteria).
(Total aside–don’t derail Waco thread–I need a new one-- but I can’t help myself) My very personal rant (and I’m a health professional) is that the last 50 years or more of research has been lost on this drug because of hysteria. Absolutely mind-boggling to me. To consider that the “criminals” know more about how the drug works, it’s effects, side effects etc than scientists who are banned by law to study it…I don’t have words.) ( Ugh. I’m not saying it’s great–but with no research–how do you know? 50 years down the drain.)
@chedva Never heard of a psychopharmacologist but sounds like a possible avenue to consider. He is willing to use yoga and various modes of physical activity to deal w his anxiety but I don’t get the sense those will be enough.We are back home now, he has gone back to work, and we/he needs to find some ways to address the anxiety and while he is adverse to pharmacological options, he needs something to replace the marijuana that will hopefully not create an addiction.
I have a niece and a nephew with seizures/epilepsy and they sometimes use cannibus products to manage that.
I would be afraid of him crossing any line by using CBD oil or synthetically derived THC. He needs to get through this without hitting any bumps if at all possible. @gouf78 @Parentof2014grad @anomander Jail was not nearly as much fun as you might expect. 
(26 in a cell, people steal things from you while you sleep, he was offered drugs twice while in there).
Maybe your son will realize that jail is not some place he wants to spend any more time in and conduct himself accordingly. I hope that he will take advantage of the help you are offering him.
@calmom I don’t know exactly what the local law permits or does not. I just know what the judge said, with apparent authority and deference from the attorneys-prosecution and defense-in the court room.
I wish @curmudgeon would surface. I will probably try to call his office in the next couple of days. Hope we don’t need him but it is going to be a long year for DS.
“That may very well be local practice in Waco, but again – the law that is written on the books in Texas does NOT specify any minimum sentence whatsoever for possession of less than 2 oz. of marijuana. There is a 72 hour minimum for driving under the influence of marijuana – but no minimum for mere possession. So no, the judge’s hands were not tied, whatever he claimed.”
It may have been incorrectly assumed that DS was driving even though it was stipulated that he was not. I believe the local attorney who pulled us aside to give us a quick rundown of the local politics told us the DA of that day had just been appointed that week. Apparently there is a lot of turnover under the recent Twin Peaks scandal, whatever that is When it was the DA's turn to introduce the case, he could not easily summarize it despite the fact that there had been a lot of waiting time while DS struggled with his desire to NOT plead in a manner which would result in drug testing. DA had more that enough time to review the file.
Unbeknownst to us, but which explains a lot, is that DS’ attorney was not an experienced defense attorney. Turns out his focus is on contracts and I think, insurance. He was recommended to me to use as a resource. I handed his contact info over to DS. I think DS took that to mean use that lawyer as his lawyer. He never conveyed to me that he was not confident in his lawyer’s ability until that last week, when it was just too late. I was being hands off because I was letting him be in charge of his own business. The lawyer was not incompetent; he was just not experienced with looking from a defense standpoint.
I’m guessing that’s what happened.
Please, find a Waco criminal defense attorney, within the next couple of weeks. Just line someone up so that if and when your son messes up you have someone on board who is experienced in criminal defense and knows the local practices.
I know you were frustrated by your son’s reluctance to agree to drug testing – but it’s pretty common that probation just ends up deferring the inevitable – and if your son is a habitual marijuana user, he may know better than anyone else that he’s not going to be able to quit. I hope that he will come around and find a way to make it through this year… but there’s a good chance you will be facing another crisis before the year is out. (And no, it won’t be a felony… but it certainly can be a situation where your son will be facing more jail time )
I really think it was unethical for the lawyer not to refer your son to someone else 5 months ago, given that he is not a criminal defense lawyer, but that’s water under the bridge now. (I mean, when I practiced law and got a call outside my specialty – I certainly would tell the client right away and give them a referral if I happened to know someone I could recommend. Especially if the case were in another jurisdiction. ) I don’t know that it would have made a difference in the end… but it just doesn’t make a lot of sense.
I don’t want to upset you and obviously I don’t know your son. It very well may be that your son has gotten the best deal he could possibly have gotten, and maybe he’ll take things seriously enough that he’ll clean up his act for the coming year.
The point is you can’t do anything about the mistakes of the past, but you can be better prepared for the future. If you can establish a relationship with a Waco lawyer, then there will be someone your son can call if a problem arises, before the problem spirals out of control.
Calmom is right- I’m shocked that the Dallas lawyer didn’t refer it right out.
I’m surprised too that it wasn’t instantly referred.
Again, look up www.Martindale.com for Martindale Hubbell ratings for defense lawyers in Waco and contact one…
And don’t say “hide the beer” while the cops are standing outside the garage door. Don’t ask me how I know. 
@gouf78 I agree. Everything related to MJ is messed up. Just look at this kids case and all the waste. Time to focus on what’s important.
An important lesson is that every interaction, much less arrest, by the police should be taken seriously and followed up promptly with capable local counsel, from the beginning of the case. It sounds like the defendant didn’t realize the possible consequences of failing to do so, unfortunately.