Highly Experienced
Criminal Defense Lawyer
Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis attorney, James Dimeas has spent more than 29 years fighting Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana cases throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County. The extensive experience with Possession of Marijuana cases by Possession of Marijuana attorney, James Dimeas, gives him a thorough and keen understanding of how Possession of Marijuana cases are treated by the police, prosecutors, and the Courts,
While several States throughout the country have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, Illinois is not one of those States. However, Illinois has made some positive movements towards legalizing marijuana. A couple of years ago Illinois joined the growing national movement towards allowing for the use of Medical Marijuana. In 2017, Illinois decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Under this new law, if you are caught with 10 grams or less of marijuana, instead of going to criminal court and facing criminal charges, you will be given a ticket and have to pay a fine. If you receive a Municipal Violation for possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana/cannabis you should talk to an experienced criminal defense lawyer so that you can make sure the violation does not appear in a background search. In DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County, a Municipal Violation ticket may appear in a background search. Many employers may not be willing to hire you if they see a Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana charge on a background search. Possession of Cannabis lawyer, James Dimeas, has over-26 years of experience representing people charged with Cannabis/Marijuana Municipal violations. James Dimeas knows how to make sure the case never appears in a background search and jeopardizes your ability to pass a background search and get a good job.
Possession of Marijuana criminal lawyer, James Dimeas, has extensive experience dealing with the criminal consequences of Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana charges in Illinois. Criminal charges may be filed against you if you are arrested with more than 10 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis. If you are arrested with more than 10 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis but less than 30 grams you can be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor which carries a potential jail sentence of up to six-months in jail and a fine up to $1,500. If you are arrested with more than 30 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis but less than 100 grams you can be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor which carries a potential jail sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500. If you have over 100 grams but less than 500 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis you could be charged with a Class 4 Felony which carries up to one to three years in prison. If you have over 500 grams but less than 2000 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis you could be facing a Class 3 Felony which carries a potential jail sentence of up to two to five years. If you are caught with over 2000 grams but less than 5000 grams of Marijuana/Cannabis you could be facing a Class 2 Felony which carries a potential jail sentence of up to three to seven years. If you are caught with over 5000 grams of Cannabis/Marijuana you could be facing a Class 1 felony which carries a potential jail sentence of up to 4 to 15 years. Probation is available for all these criminal charges.
In addition to a potential jail sentence, you could also be facing drug treatment requirements, random urine drops for drug testing, and hefty financial penalties. With the budget problems faced by Illinois state government, state legislators have piled on the fines and penalties on people charged and convicted of Marijuana/Cannabis Possession charges. From experience, the fines, fees, and court costs imposed on people convicted of Marijuana/Cannabis charges are among the highest of all criminal convictions.
Even though you are initially charged with Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis, the criminal charges can be upgraded to Delivery of a Controlled Substance 720 ILCS 570/401 or Possession with Intent to Distribute or Deliver 720 ILCS 570 depending upon the particular facts of our case. For instance, if the police recover a scale or plastic bags indicating that the Marijuana/Cannabis was being sold, you could be charged with selling the drugs even though the police did not observe you selling Marijuana/Cannabis to anyone. Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Distribute or Deliver are much more serious than Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis. The potential jail sentences are much more severe than Possession of Marijuana and prosecutors and judges deal with charges of dealing drugs much more seriously than simple possession of drugs for personal use.
You should talk to Possession of Cannabis lawyer, James Dimeas, as soon as you can after you are arrested for Possession of Marijuana. If the police start asking you questions, demand that they get you a lawyer. Do not assume that because your case involves Marijuana/Cannabis that the charges are not a big deal. If you start talking to the police, what started out as a Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case can easily escalate to a Delivery of a Controlled Substance or Possession with Intent to Distribute or Deliver felony charge.
Many employers will not hire you if they find out you had a Marijuana/Cannabis case on your record. While the national movement is moving towards the eventual acceptance and possible legalization of Marijuana/Cannabis, employers are much further behind the curve when it comes to hiring employees who they believe smoke Marijuana/Cannabis. Even a Municipal Violation for Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana could cost you a job if it ever shows up on a background search. You can contact Possession of Marijuana attorney, James Dimeas, anytime to discuss your Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case to make sure that a minor mistake does not cost you that job in the future. You can speak to James Dimeas personally by calling him at 847-807-7405 for a confidential consultation.
Call Possession of Marijuana lawyer, James Dimeas, to use his over-29 years of experience in handling Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis cases throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County. James Dimeas understands how a Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case can haunt you for the rest of your life. There is no reason why a Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case should ever appear on your record. Possession of Cannabis attorney, James Dimeas, knows how to handle a Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case so that you are not convicted of a crime and will not have a criminal record that could keep you from getting a job in the future.
If you have a received Municipal Ordinance Violation, you should contact Municipal Violation lawyer, James Dimeas, to make sure that the charges never appear on your record and never come up on a background search. Do not assume that the Village or City will make sure the case never appears on your record. James Dimeas will make sure it never appears on your background.
James Dimeas is a nationally-recognized, award-winning Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana attorney. Recently, The American Society of Legal Advocates named James Dimeas a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer In the State of Illinois For the Year 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.” Attorney and Practice Magazine gave James Dimeas the “Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorney Award for Illinois,” and the “Top 10 DUI Defense Attorney” award.” The National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys gave James Dimeas the “Top 10 Attorney Award for the State of Illinois.” AVVO rates James Dimeas as “Superb”, 10 out of 10, the highest rating possible for any Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana lawyer in the United States. Expertise named James Dimeas a “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer in Chicago.” James Dimeas is a “Best DUI Attorney.” The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys named James Dimeas a “10 Best Attorney for Client Satisfaction.” The National Trial Lawyers named James Dimeas a “Top 100 Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer.”
Possession of Cannabis/Marijuana lawyer, James Dimeas, has over-29 years of experience keeping Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis charges off of his client’s record in Possession of Marijuana cases throughout Chicago, Cook County, DuPage County, Kane County, and Lake County. You can contact James Dimeas anytime for a free and confidential consultation. You can always call James Dimeas at 847-807-7405 to talk to him personally about how he can make sure your record stays clean and you can win your Possession of Marijuana/Cannabis case. James Dimeas has a proven track record of getting results!