What is Constructive Possession of a Controlled Substance?
Constructive possession of a controlled substance exists where you do not have actual physical possession of an illegal drug, but have both: • knowledge of the drug’s presence on or about your property and • the ability to maintain dominion and control over it. Constructive possession can be sole or joint, meaning either an individual or a group of two or more people can be charged with constructively possessing the same controlled substance. For example, two people living in the same house where only one bag of marijuana is found can both be held liable for constructively possessing the single bag. Merely being in close proximity to a drug is not enough to prove constructive possession. Legally, it is treated the same as actual possession and allows for the same possible defenses.
