The Firm Updates

Working for the environment…

“Down to the Plastic Ocean,” a short film by client Danny Aguar, also produced and scored by client Kathy Kirbo (Assistant Producer – Eric Krasle), has now been enjoying great success in the film world-and in fostering understanding about the environmental impact of refuse entering our water system. The film was in the International Traveling Film Festival on Water. It was chosen for the Festival Film Bahari 2018 in Bangalore, India and was accepted in to the Luscia Caribbean International FantasticFilm Fest for 2017. We screened this environmental impact short virtual reality film at the University of Georgia Tate Student Center in relation to “Chasing Coral,” and it was selected for the Socially Relevant Film Festival New York 2018 and recently took the First Place V.R. prize at the LifeArt 2018 festival in Greece.



This spring represents the 30th anniversary of the Law offices!



Thank you all for trusting us with your issues, good and bad, and for recommending us to your family and friends! This is the source of most our clients.



Recent developments include our contracting with a polygraph expert, to be available to help with issues like the growing number of dubious allegation cases, the recent drafting of sophisticated realty option and conservation easement documents, the closing of two non institutionally funded real estate purchases, and the disposition, to the satisfaction of the clients, of two felony and two misdemeanor criminal cases.



Congratulations to the new slate of our political representatives, to Judge Norris, and Judge elect Lisa Lott!



This Monday morning, maintaining an incredible streak, we won a trial in Barrow county Magistrate court, on a counter claim, with a $15,000.00 judgment (The highest allowed in that court).



 Mr Krasle enjoyed speaking at the UGA Miller Learning Center last night to the Phi Alpha Delta Prelaw fraternity.



“DOWN TO THE PLASTIC OCEAN,” a short film by Danny Aguar, also produced

and scored by Kathy Kirbo (Assistant Producer – Eric Krasle), has been

accepted in the 11th INTERNATIONAL TRAVELING FILM FESTIVAL ON WATER, and

shown on the big screen Bangalore, India; and also was accepted in to the

LUSCIA CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL for 2017; was screened at the University of Georgia Tate Student Center in relation to “Chasing Coral” and is now an official selection of SR SOCIALLY RELEVANT FILM FESTIVAL New York 2018.



Mr. Krasle gave a speech to Phi Alpha Delta prelaw fraternity last week, and entered into a federal UCC case, agreed to represent the US Army in a medical account case, and completed a felony State case.



We have agreed to help sponsor the Wild Rumpus yet again, as well as the Fringe Fest.



Congratulations to our new Superior Court judge in ACC, Regina Quick.



Please join us in providing support to the victims in Puerto Rico and those of the California fires. 





Our prayers go out to Texas and Louisiana to survive the flood.



Lately, we recovered $100,000. for siblings injured in a car accident, successfully tried a commercial litigation case before a 4 day jury in another county, completed three real estate transactions, completed a production contract for a concert vendor, and resolved several criminal cases in multiple counties.



This week, continuing a stellar record, we prevailed in an emotional and difficult domestic trial in Barrow county, and achieved the dismissal of a fourth in life charge of DUI. Have a safe weekend.

BE SAFE THIS WEEKEND



But if you get in trouble with the law, specifically DUI, MIP or assorted other hassles with police, call us at 706-353-0032 and see if we can help. We will sure try



HAPPY LABOR DAY MONDAY


As it is a Legal Holiday, we will be closed Monday, however you may leave a message at 706-353-0032 or at eric@krasle.com

Updated 8/20/14

By Eric Krasle

I have been following the marijuana prohibition saga as a civil libertarian and criminal attorney for more than 26 years.



Recent legislative actions in Colorado and Washington State, as well as previously in other states, achieving various degrees of re-legalization of marijuana, have made news lately as part of a national moderation of anti-marijuana laws. These progressive developments, however, while creating the perception of a sea change in social acceptance of marijuana, will not actually herald in the degree of freedom and acceptance implied by their achievement.



While various institutions, particularly among federal law enforcement, seek to nullify these very achievements, based upon preemption by Federal Law over the subject matter, the true long term developments affecting the freedoms associated with marijuana use will be in the private sector, and through subtle government imposed hurdles.



Republican-led legislative initiatives primarily aimed at cutting the initial costs of entitlement programs have been introduced to institute drug testing as a prerequisite for various state government benefits. Georgia passed such a law 2012 GA Act HB 861 affecting O.C.G.A. § 49-4-193, requiring drug testing of recipients of welfare (TANF) benefits, which will be tested in the courts. A similar statute, in Florida, however, has recently been rendered void by the US 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (also the Circuit for Georgia) in an opinion voiding the law on a balancing test, but also indirectly critical of its Constitutionality. Lebron v. Secretary, Florida D.F.C.S. 11-15258 (11th Cir 2013).



An epidemic of pain killer medication abuse has led to heavy scrutiny of pain management clinics; and new legislation in Georgia is aimed at curtailing abuses by some “pain pill factory” private entities. Already, however, pain management clinics have begun instituting a requirement of drug testing as a prerequisite to becoming or remaining a client and obtaining medicinal relief. In short, the private sector has taken up the cause of eradicating marijuana use/competition. This development is somewhat ironic; as little or no medical basis has been demonstrated for depriving medical or recreational marijuana users from obtaining needed pain medication. In fact, the very people who are, because of their pain, seeking prescription pain medication on a legitimate basis, are also the people most legitimately turning to marijuana as a low cost less addictive substitute for opiod based pain management. Their best alternative for tempering their use of prescription pain medication and avoiding addiction may, itself, be in the marijuana usage.



Generally, drug tests, whether consumer home tests, Court required test (such as for probation), or employment or insurance related tests, do not seem to differentiate (in repercussion) between drugs such as cocaine and heroin, on the one hand, and marijuana on the other. In fact, a consumer would be hard pressed to find any kind of drug test which tests for the hard drugs without testing for THC metabolites (marijuana). Yet those same tests seem to have no problem excluding tobacco and alcohol. The tests that do test for THC metabolites often fail to differentiate between the non-impairing carboxy metabolite and impairment related hydroxy metabolite. This deficiency is not based upon a lack of technology, but rather an apparent lack of willingness to depart from the status quo of marijuana demonization.



Courts step in on occasion. The Georgia Supreme Court, for instance, in Love v. State, 271 Ga. 398 (1999) basically said (paraphrasing): “Yes, Pot is illegal, but it takes more than a test showing you are using it for you to be DUI. There has to be evidence you are a less safe driver.” A better requirement would be to show impairment from the drug at the time of driving, like in other states, including where use is legal. 



 Currently, Federally based financial aid is also placed in jeopardy upon Court disposition of one charged with a marijuana, based offense. I refer to “the case disposition” rather than “conviction” since, in contravention of the entire intent behind First Offender treatment of defendants, even first offender disposition of drug cases can have the negative result of disqualifying one from obtaining Federal financial aid. Essentially, from a sheerly economic capitalistic standpoint, it would appear that marijuana use is perceived as a marker for higher risk behavior, by various governmental and institutional policy makers, and thus testing is a way to “weed out” participants in risk spreading models. This author anticipates that this trend will widen, and that drug testing will not just continue to be more widely used, irrespective of any logical argument in support thereof, for participation in school programs, obtaining or keeping a job, qualifying for government benefits, obtaining medical care, traveling abroad, obtaining licenses and otherwise. 



 Threatening the placement of some one on the No Fly List, for instance, can shape behavior without maintaining a “Law” against disfavored activity. Once, information about a positive screen, in any context, can be shared, then the stigma could be used for a number of denials. 



The death of protest, in an analogous extension of this principle, came from the loss of the right to protest anonymously, in the seemingly benign case of Hibel v. Sixth Judicial District of Nevada, Humboldt County 542 US 177 (2004). Basically the Court said that the failure to identify ones self can be criminalized, even if one is not otherwise disobeying the law. Now that being on the wrong side of an issue, to the government, can label you as troublemaker, and they can put you on the “No Fly List” (ask Cat Stevens) the legal act of protesting becomes prohibitively risky. 



Marijuana use, in the same way, will continue to be more discouraged by forced disclosure, and stigma, and repercussions. 



Upon decrimilization/re-legalization, however, how much can a private employer or offer of services to the public, such as in insurer, discriminate against users? Well, we all know about higher rates and denials for tobacco users imposed by insurers, but the health argument is nowhere near the same with marijuana, still, though, with usage perceived as a “marker,” one would expect similar adverse treatment. Recent developments regarding the ability of employers to discriminate against tobacco users in their off time) indicate that unless there is a state anti-bias law to protect tobacco users) there would be no protection. 



Eventually the pendulum may swing back as the realities of stigmatizing or depriving the masses produces its own problems. Some legislators realize that the wider such nets are cast, the more likely they will not be tolerated. “Test for Welfare” legislative proposals are often countered by proposals to include legislators in the testing. 



 Workers compensation insurers, for some time now, have offered substantial discounts (such as 14%) on premiums for employers who have a drug-testing program, particularly not exempting marijuana. Employers can achieve cost savings in their workers compensation premiums by instituting the drug-testing program, although it is not necessarily prudent to do so. A manufacturing plant in Athens, Georgia, who chose not to institute the testing program, even though their main competitor, a Tennessee plant of another company, had taken advantage of this incentive. The end result, reportedly, was that the Athens plant actually ended up increasing their market share when the Tennessee plant, as a result of the testing, lost so many employees that it could not keep up its production schedule. 



Small restaurants make the same choice, to staff well despite higher premiums. Similarly, large sophisticated German companies, instead of testing for off duty alcohol use and discriminating on that basis, have exacted a hiring competitive edge by offering beer in vending machines at work.



The current long-term regarding liberalization of marijuana in these ways, is more restrictive, irrespective of the short term legislative achievements, but the resulting wholesale restrictions on autonomy and opportunity for users will eventually cause a push back to this trend.