Marijuana possession charges in Columbia, South Carolina create permanent criminal records destroying careers, professional licenses, and futures based on harsh drug laws treating cannabis as seriously as other controlled substances despite nationwide trends toward decriminalization.
Available 24/7 - Immediate Response for Marijuana Arrests
Whether arrested with marijuana in Five Points, charged after police found cannabis during a traffic stop on I-26, accused of possession with intent to distribute after officers discovered scales in your apartment, or facing prosecution anywhere in Richland or Lexington Counties, South Carolina imposes jail time, fines, and driver's license suspension even for first-time simple possession of small amounts.
Matt McGuire has defended marijuana charges in Columbia for over three decades, understanding how illegal searches produce most drug arrests, how prosecutors inflate simple possession into distribution charges, and how South Carolina's cannabis laws destroy young people's futures for conduct that's legal in numerous states.
Marijuana cases are won or lost on constitutional challenges to search and seizure procedures. Most cannabis arrests result from searches that violated Fourth Amendment protections, creating suppression opportunities that eliminate prosecution evidence entirely.
Deep understanding of search and seizure law, challenging traffic stops, vehicle searches, home entries, and consent searches that violated your constitutional rights.
Expert knowledge of K-9 unit procedures, handler cuing, training deficiencies, and false positive rates that undermine reliability of dog alerts justifying searches.
Challenging prosecutor attempts to elevate simple possession to distribution charges based on weight, packaging, scales, or other circumstantial evidence.
Defeating charges when marijuana was found in vehicles or homes with multiple occupants, challenging prosecution's ability to prove knowing control.
Pursuing Pretrial Intervention, conditional discharge, drug court, and other programs that avoid convictions and preserve expungement eligibility.
South Carolina's marijuana laws impose harsh penalties even for small amounts, with escalating consequences based on quantity, prior convictions, and whether distribution is alleged. We defend all cannabis charges throughout Richland and Lexington Counties.
Defense against first-offense simple possession carrying up to 30 days jail and $200 fine, with penalties increasing to one year for subsequent convictions.
Defense against PWID charges when prosecutors allege quantities, packaging, or scales indicate distribution—carrying up to five years imprisonment.
Defense against trafficking charges for weights exceeding 10 pounds, triggering mandatory minimum 25-year sentences under South Carolina's strict trafficking laws.
Defense against growing charges regardless of quantity, carrying up to five years imprisonment even for single personal-use plants.
Defense against separate paraphernalia charges for pipes, bongs, rolling papers, or grinders accompanying marijuana arrests.
Defense against charges for cannabis products treated identically to marijuana flower under South Carolina law despite different forms.
Possession is illegal regardless of medical conditions or prescriptions from other states. We fight to protect clients facing prosecution for conduct that's legal elsewhere.
Marijuana charges threaten your career, education, and future over conduct that shouldn't be criminal. You deserve attorneys who fight aggressively while understanding that avoiding a drug record is essential to protecting your life.
Beyond avoiding jail, we understand that drug convictions destroy futures. We pursue every avenue to prevent records—PTI, conditional discharge, dismissals, and expungement.
We challenge illegal searches aggressively, understanding that most marijuana arrests result from Fourth Amendment violations that create suppression opportunities.
Special focus on protecting USC students and young people from marijuana convictions that eliminate federal financial aid and destroy career opportunities before they begin.
Marijuana arrests happen at any hour. We respond immediately to protect your rights during the critical early stages when decisions about statements and consent matter most.
We explain your options clearly—the strength of constitutional challenges, likelihood of dismissal, and available alternative resolutions—so you make informed decisions.
Every marijuana case presents opportunities for constitutional challenges. Police frequently violate search and seizure rules, creating defenses that can eliminate prosecution evidence entirely.
Attacking stops conducted without reasonable suspicion, suppressing all evidence when officers lacked legal basis to pull you over initially.
Challenging vehicle, home, and person searches conducted without warrants or valid exceptions, eliminating illegally obtained evidence.
Expert testimony exposing handler cuing, inadequate training, certification deficiencies, and false positive rates undermining dog alert reliability.
Challenging coerced or involuntary consent when police pressured, deceived, or implied you had no choice but to allow searches.
Defeating charges when marijuana was found with multiple people present and prosecution can't prove you had knowing control.
Fighting PWID enhancements by attacking weight calculations, challenging packaging evidence, and proving personal use rather than distribution.
Marijuana cases require attorneys who understand both constitutional law and Columbia's court system—from municipal court procedures to prosecutor tendencies to alternative resolution options. Matt McGuire brings over 30 years of local experience to every case.
Over 30 years defending marijuana charges in Columbia Municipal Court and Richland County courts, securing dismissals, PTI, and protecting clients from convictions.
Deep understanding of Fourth Amendment law enabling effective challenges to traffic stops, K-9 alerts, vehicle searches, and warrantless entries that produce most marijuana arrests.
Familiarity with Columbia prosecutors, judges, and court procedures developed over three decades, essential to negotiating PTI, conditional discharge, and favorable resolutions.
Extensive experience navigating Pretrial Intervention, drug court, conditional discharge, and other programs that avoid convictions and preserve expungement eligibility.
Understanding that avoiding a drug record matters more than anything else, fighting to protect your career, education, professional licensing, and future opportunities.
Marijuana convictions create devastating consequences extending far beyond court-imposed penalties. Understanding what's at stake reveals why aggressive defense and alternative resolutions are essential.
Pretrial Intervention allows dismissal after completing drug education and community service, avoiding conviction and preserving expungement eligibility. We pursue every alternative resolution option.
Marijuana cases involve unique constitutional issues and alternative resolution options. Here are answers to questions Columbia defendants commonly ask about cannabis defense.
Officers often claim marijuana odor justifies vehicle searches, but these claims can be challenged. We examine whether the stop was legal, whether odor claims are credible, and whether the search exceeded proper scope.
Never. You have the right to refuse searches. Politely but firmly state "I do not consent to any search." If police search anyway, your attorney can challenge the search's legality and seek suppression of evidence.
Simple possession is having marijuana for personal use. PWID (possession with intent to distribute) is charged when prosecutors allege quantity, packaging, scales, or other evidence indicates distribution. PWID carries much harsher penalties.
First-time offenders often qualify for PTI, which allows charges to be dismissed after completing drug education and community service. We pursue PTI and other alternatives that avoid conviction.
Yes. South Carolina mandates six-month license suspension for first drug offense, one year for second, regardless of whether driving was involved. We fight to avoid convictions that trigger suspension.
Constructive possession requires proof you knew about the marijuana and had control over it. When multiple people are present, prosecution must prove knowing control. We challenge these assumptions.
If charges are dismissed, you complete PTI, or receive conditional discharge, expungement may be available. Convictions are generally not expungeable. We pursue resolutions that preserve expungement eligibility.
Student marijuana arrests create both criminal and university disciplinary consequences. We address both, fighting to protect your education, federal financial aid eligibility, and future career.
With over 30 years of experience defending South Carolina, McGuire Law provides elite legal representation with national recognition. McGuire Law has grown from a small practice into one of the most trusted law firms in South Carolina.
McGuire Law is committed to each client's unique situation, and we don't believe in boilerplate solutions. Every case requires careful analysis, strategic planning, and aggressive representation.
McGuire Law serves all 46 South Carolina counties. We know these counties, their courts, their legal communities, and most importantly, the people who live here.
Matt McGuire received his B.A. from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and his J.D. from the University of South Carolina.
Matt has served as a law clerk for a State Circuit Judge, an Assistant Attorney General for the State of South Carolina, and an Assistant Solicitor in the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office.
Matt is a proud husband, father of two, and a long-time resident of Richland County, South Carolina.
Don't let another day pass without proper legal protection against cannabis charges and their devastating consequences. Call McGuire Law now and experience the difference that personal, aggressive, and effective legal representation can make in your marijuana defense case.
Matt McGuire has defended marijuana charges throughout Columbia and South Carolina for over 30 years, securing dismissals, pretrial intervention, and protecting clients from drug convictions in Columbia Municipal Court and Richland County courts.
