I Smell Marijuana at My Ex's House When I Return Our Child

In making a determination of the best interest of the child in a family law proceeding, the Court must consider, among any other factors it finds relevant, the habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances or the habitual or continual abuse of alcohol by either parent.

These days, it is a rare family law case where the Judge does not hear allegations of at least marijuana use or excessive drinking. In this regard, one Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has told me that unless the allegations come to the authorities' attention other than from mom or dad against the other parent; it is probably not a problem in the mind of the Court. The Judge is always looking for some independent corroboration from someone who does not have an axe to grind.

If a parent smokes marijuana on his or her non-custodial weekends, it would generally be ignored by the Court. The question is how does it hurt the child?

In the course of family law litigation such as a divorce, child custody or paternity case, a parent should not be stoned or drunk when he or she is with the kids. Yet, it is not uncommon for intact couples to often smoke marijuana in the home when the kids are present inside. But, in family law litigation, the rules are probably going to be different.

Another question relates to the effect of a parent possessing a medical marijuana card. This needs to be handled on a case by case basis. To avoid problems in this case, it would be beneficial to obtain appropriate court orders when and under what conditions the parent could use the marijuana during times of custodial access with the minor children. If use of the marijuana by a parent possessing a medical marijuana card is shown to be a detriment to the children when they are present with that parent using the marijuana, it is still going to be a problematic issue before the court.

Richard Ross
Certified Family Law Specialist

Richard Ross is a Certified Family Law Specialist in California who is a member of the Collaborative Family Law Professionals in both Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.
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