Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia on Federal Property: Dismissed

A young civilian woman entered Hanscom Air Force Base with her vehicle and was subjected to a search.   Military police detected an odor of marijuana from inside her vehicle.  A search of the passenger compartment yielded the discovery of both marijuana and related paraphernalia.  As a result, the woman received a summons to answer criminal charges for these items in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Under federal law, marijuana is still an unlawful controlled substance.  This law is controlling on federal property in Massachusetts even though under Massachusetts state law, marijuana is legalized.  The young woman and her family retained Federal Criminal Defense Attorney, John L. Calcagni III, to defend her in Federal Court.  Attorney Calcagni contacted the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to prosecute this case.

This person is an Air Force Judge Advocate who has the collateral duty of prosecuting civilians charged with committing crimes on federal property, such as Hanscom Air Force Base.  Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded the prosecutor to dismiss these charges against his client, resulting in no criminal conviction or adverse finding.