Illegal or Prescribed? Here Are Drugs That Can Affect Your Custody Order
Video Transcribed: Hello. My name is attorney Jason Lile, and I am a men’s attorney in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A very important question and issue that I address in my practice, and have for many years, is drug use. If you are in a custody situation, whether it’s through a divorce or paternity, and you use drugs, it certainly can affect your custody rights.
The question is, what kind of drugs? Do you have a prescription? And certainly, if you’re using illegal drugs, you can lose your custody rights if the other party requests a drug test and you test positive for illegal drugs. But then of course, in today’s environment, with medical marijuana being legal in Oklahoma, the issue, of course, comes up about what if I find THC in my system through a drug test, which is the active and psychoactive component in marijuana, and I have a medical card? Or what if I don’t have a medical card?
Well, for the most part, marijuana nowadays in my experience in the Oklahoma Court is treated very much like alcohol in the sense that alcohol is legal, as is medical marijuana if you have a card, but that does not mean it won’t hurt your custody issue if you are drunk or intoxicated around your child. Marijuana’s the same way. If there is evidence that you are high while you are to be taking care of your children, that can hurt your custody chances. And most judges will not care that you have a card. You’re not to be intoxicated while you’re taking care of your children. That is a common sense application of the best interest standard for children.
On the other hand, if you don’t have a card the consequences are slightly elevated, because then technically the court has received proof that you are illegally consuming marijuana. My advice to most people is that if you are going to consume marijuana, get a card. It’s very easy to do, and you should have it because if you have it certainly decreases the chances of it having a negative effect on your custody issue.
If you have a question about this or any other family law-related issue, again, my name is attorney Jason Lile, and I am an Oklahoma child custody lawyer. You can find my contact information at tulsafathersrights.lawyer or Dads.law, and I would be happy to consult with you.
