First Offense MJ Possession and One of Us Didn't Even Do Anything! What Now??

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

So, last night I got busted for marijuana possession. What happened was I had some bud, probably at most 2grams, went to a park, parked, and smoked. My friend was just along for the ride, wasn't her bud and didn't smoke it at all. Anyway, so the cop pulls up behind us, lights off, maybe 2 or 5 minutes after I started smoking. As soon as I see him, I get rid of the blunt (I don't remember what I did with it and I don't know if they ever found it, but heard them expressing frustrations on not being able to find what I'd been smoking). Cop comes to the window, asks me how I'm doing, then asks me where the rest of the weed is. I deny knowing what he's talking about, then he shines the flashlight at my purse and asks my if it's in the jar/baggie he could see in it. I again deny knowing what he's talking about. So then basically opens the car door and pulls me out and handcuffs me. Does the same to my friend, and accuses her of smoking too. We both said she hadn't been smoking, but no one believed us. In the end, they searched my car and found the rest of the bud, my pipe, a waterfall cap, some stems, probably some more weed crumbs. I admitted to owning the purse they found the pipe (packed, but not used) and weed in, but stopped answering questions other than personal information (name, age, dob, etc) after a while. They took us down to the jail, held us for almost five hours and then finally let us go at 4am after our bail ($670 each) was paid. Now, I'm 19 and my friend is 20, we live in Cobb County, GA, USA. And we're not sure, but the park may have been a drug-free zone--we didn't notice any signs while there, though. We're both charged with possession of marijuana, and due in court in August. Wtf do we do?? It's our first offense, both of us.

Help!!! We're scared we're facing time!

Your friend is in just as much trouble as you. The word possession has nothing to do with ownership, and actually using the substance is also not an element of possession. Your friend being in the vehicle with you and the substance, depending on whether she could realistically have reached for the substance (i.e. was the purse right next to her?), will mean that she was indeed in possession.

First-time offenders typically see some sort of deferred prosecution from the court, which often includes fees, probation, attending a drug class, and possibly some community service. Actually sitting down with an attorney is likely a good idea for both of you.

The Occultist said:

Your friend is in just as much trouble as you. The word possession has nothing to do with ownership, and actually using the substance is also not an element of possession. Your friend being in the vehicle with you and the substance, depending on whether she could realistically have reached for the substance (i.e. was the purse right next to her?), will mean that she was indeed in possession.

First-time offenders typically see some sort of deferred prosecution from the court, which often includes fees, probation, attending a drug class, and possibly some community service. Actually sitting down with an attorney is likely a good idea for both of you.

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Thank you! We have both spoken with an attorney. He said pretty much the same things you did, and we're on our way to being represented. Thanks again!

To prove possession, the prosecution has to show more than just being present where drugs are located. The state has to show "constructive" possession, which means that the person had the right to control the drugs.