The New Jersey Appellate Division just ruled in State in the Interest of M.R. (juvenile case out of Camden County) that, sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar. In the lower trial court, Judge Pugliese had ruled that the cigar was a "blunt and it's used for marijuana purposes." The Appellate Division disagreed and overturned the conviction. The higher court ackowledged that the cigar is like a tobacco pipe and can "sometimes" satisfy the definition of drug paraphernalia. However, in M.R., the prosecutor (Camden County Prosecutor's Office) had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that M.R. "knowingly possessed the cigar as drug paraphernalia 'with intent to use' it.
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