Another vote for getting a lawyer. As one (though not in your jurisdiction), I regularly deal with the prosecutor in negotiating–sometimes for lesser punishments, sometimes to drop the charges. But this is not the kind of thing you want to deal with, without a lawyer who can do such negotiations.
Your state may have a public defender, or Legal Aid of some sort. If money is tight, you would do well to look into these options.
Get a lawyer to limit the damage. You screwed up not just by driving high, but by giving up one of your most important legal rights in any encounter with the police: the right to remain silent.
I’d suggest watching this video about your rights during police encounters.
I’d also suggest giving up the drugs.
OP: your attorney will be able to help. No field sobriety test and no priors IME with friends means you’ll plead to a lesser offense. In PA, a years probation and an attorney payment plan, both completed around the same time.
Live and learn, dude.
You sound like a decent guy. You don’t have to be–or far, far worse, pretend to a judge–on the road to Mother Theresa. You fucked up and got caught. You can bitch about the got caught part to your lawyer, but remember, the $ meter will be running. So you can get that out of your system with her, but do it quickly.
The rest, listen to her and try to stay cool. Your crime was not of the highest, and thank God your punishment will not be of the highest (no pun intended). Again, you sound like a concerned guy.
Just try not to drive high. I’ve been in some strange space-time continuums when high. Not safe.
If your father was willing to bail you out, perhaps he will help you hire a lawyer. At the very least he might loan the money to you.
You mention you’re taking classes? Most likely your school, even if it’s a community college, has a legal support office or something of that nature. They can’t represent you in a criminal case, but if you schedule a meeting with them what they can do is give you good advice specific to where you live about what you need to do.
They also usually maintain a list of attorneys they would consider good for certain types of cases (I don’t think they are allowed to send business the way of specific lawyers or even make formal recommendations, but they lawyers on their list are usually good.)
If they do maintain a list of attorneys, call one’s office and have a meeting with them. The first meeting will be free, just explain your situation and ask the attorney what they think they can do for you and how much it will cost. Many will charge a flat rate for DUI. In Virginia DUI ranges from $1500 on the very low end to $5000-6000 on the high end around here, for lawyers that do this kind of case a lot. Some lawyers you may just be able to talk to them on the phone instead of having to bother with going in for a meeting.
Despite their bad reputation, a good lawyer will typically give it to you straight. He’ll note the circumstances of the arrest and usually tell you if he thinks it’s likely they will be able to get parts of the arrest thrown out or etc, but with caveats like “of course I’ll need to review the full arrest record and etc” and won’t speak in absolutes.
If you come away from a meeting with one of the lawyers with some indication they can get this stuff to go away, you may then consider trying to raise the funds to pay for it. Borrow from parents, or whatever. If that’s just a patent impossibility, then do a google search on “public defender Mississippi” and you’ll find information on how to get a court appointed attorney to represent you. In some States the court appointed attorneys are not full-time PDs, but are just in a pool of names that can get selected for this kind of thing. Some of them are actually pretty good local lawyers that do the PD thing on the side.
You’ve been charged with a crime, at this point you simply must have legal representation. If you can’t afford it, you need to go and get a court appointed attorney. Worst case scenario is the attorney tells you that because of the laws of Mississippi they have you dead to rights, but they’ll negotiate a plea for you. I know in Virginia if you get a “normal” alcohol DUI and blow a very low number (say below .10 but above .08) they often will alter the charge to something other than DUI. I don’t know what they do with something like weed, where there isn’t a per se legal limit and the officer did not do any tests on your impairment. It may simply be the case that Mississippi law says if you’re under the effects of weed at all that’s a de facto DUI.
A little advice, you made a few huge mistakes:
Traveling with an illegal drug visible from outside the car. There is a doctrine called “plain sight”, meaning anything that is in plain sight inside your vehicle the police can look at and use as evidence against you. If the weed was in the trunk or in a sealed backpack out of reach of you or etc they would not have ever been able to get to it without your permission.
Admitting you had just smoked. This means all those issues about it being difficult to prove when someone smoked weed no longer apply to you, you hurt yourself with that admission, and were not required to make it.
Traveling with the smell of weed on your person. Referencing the plain sight doctrine above, if a police officer smells weed that’s often probable cause enough to search your car, in which case even if you had the weed well hidden they’d have been allowed to search your car. Even where the smell of weed isn’t enough for probable cause, it’s enough to allow the officer to detain you and call in the drug dogs, once they signal the presence of drugs that is considered probable cause for a search and then the police get to search through your car. You really should have done something about your smell. Weed has a very recognizable odor, there are many ways to remove that odor from your person and your car after smoking.
money can’t be that tight, hell you’ve got money for dope.
If it was me I wouldn’t bother with a lawyer in this case and would just represent myself. I would however do some research regarding being charged with DUI in your state. It would seem odd to me that a field sobriety test was never conducted in order to charge you with it. I would research this and argue this point, but plead guilty to a minor possession of weed. Which is likely not a big deal at all considering the amount you have, just like a parking ticket.
Again research this based on the laws in your state, and quote the laws in court if need be.
Sorry about the attitude, had a buddy killed by a drunk driver and have little room for those who drive under the influence. Didn’t mean to lash out. You can’t afford to not get a lawyer.
Middies according to the OP.
‘Your Honour-dude, I was so baked I thought I was in Washington!’ 
From DUIDrivingLaws.org
I had around a gram on me give or take. I smoke fairly often and I would never drive if I felt I couldn’t be safe because I don’t want to put other people in danger. I just wanted to play pool as I usually do on Friday nights. The officer asked me if I was ok to not be cuffed and of course I wasn’t going to do anything else as stupid as I had just did (driving under the influence and having weed in the car). We then rode about 10 minutes to the prison and had a real talk about how marijuana shouldn’t be illegal, but that it still is. He was a super nice dude after he figured out that I wasn’t even that high. I wasn’t treated bad in the whole situation because I was so respectful. I just don’t understand how I can get charged with such a severe crime as DUI when I wasnt given a test of any kind. I even helped the officer move things out of the passenger seat so I could get in the vehicle. I understand that doesn’t help my case that significantly but it has to do something. Is there any way I can just be charged with minor possession and get the DUI dropped?
Again, thank you all for help. You all have helped me see where I was wrong and how to avoid this particular situation again.
I love this lol
I’m also not sure how someone could be convicted of DUI/impaired driving in the absence of a field sobriety test, blood test or breathalyzer, or some other proof - a traffic violation or accident. Since the OP was snared by a routine roadblock, not for any violation. And if the cop even agreed he wasn’t (acting) high, where’s the proof? Maybe I’m dense and missing something obvious here.
IANAL and don’t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing but seems to me the only thing they can charge him for was possession of weed and drug paraphernalia.
Hopefully I’m right. Brasel19, I agree with everyone who suggest you get a lawyer. If there is any possibility you could be charged with a DUI, this is absolutely not something you want on your record, since it will remain there for ever. A guy who works for me made some very bad decisions in his late teens and early 20s, and ended up with a felony drunk driving conviction. (Thankfully he didn’t injure anyone but himself.) He’s in his 30s now and is locked out of a big pool of opportunities because of it. Certainly doesn’t seem like this is going to happen to you but I’d do everything possible to minimise the damage here.
Good luck! I hope it works out for you and that you come back and report how this was resolved.
With one exception :rolleyes: the advice is to get a lawyer. That’s a near-consensus.
So get a lawyer already. Spend your drug money on something worthwhile for a change.
He admitted he’d been smoking. Unlike alcohol, there isn’t any level that isn’t under the influence for weed. You admit you’ve smoked it recently, you are under the influence. That’s why he’s getting the advice to keep his mouth shut in the future.
I also question the assertion that he wasn’t baked enough to be impaired. I’ve seen a lot of impaired people on alcohol, weed, and some other stuff, and most of them are impaired LONG before they believe themselves to be so. When everyone else knows you are baked, and you think you are passing, you are probably too impaired to drive.
Ah. Really, that’s all it takes? Even one puff? Even if it had been, say, several hours ago?
A mere admission absent any proof seems awfully flimsy to me. I’m not questioning what you said, just surprised that would be the case.
I’m not defending being high, or even a tiny bit buzzed and driving, just for the record. Of course that is stupid and antisocial and wrong, not to mention illegal. Which the OP, hopefully, now fully realises.
OP I know it’s too late now, but if this happens again, remember some important phrases.
“I don’t consent to any searches.”
[When asked a question]“Officer, are you conducting an investigation?” If he says “No,” then “Am I being detained?” If he says “No,” then “Am I free to go?” If he says “Yes” to either of the first two questions, then “I’m going to exercise my 5th Amendment right to remain silent.”