Under South Carolina law if a defendant in magistrate court is charged with simple possession of marijuana and has no prior drug convictions he/she is entitled to a “conditional discharge” one time only. A conditional discharge means that the defendant will pay a fee and satisfy conditions set by the court but will not have a conviction on his/her record.
Law in Action has been concerned that information about the conditional discharge option has not been made known to all defendants, particularly those not represented by a lawyer. Many defendants see first offense simple possession of marijuana cases as “no big deal”, plead guilty and pay a fine without knowing about the conditional discharge option. And as a result they have a drug conviction on their record. And if later on they are charged with another drug offense, it is a second offense. It is also important to keep drug convictions, even minor ones, off of your criminal record for employment background checks, etc.
Law in Action has contacted all of the county magistrates and asked them to inform defendants who are in court without lawyers about the conditional discharge option.