Phillips v. State

In Phillips v. State, 133 Ga. App. 392, 393 (210 S.E.2d 858) (1974), the State's expert from the crime laboratory testified "that many other hemp plants and marijuana have similarities, look alike, and that the only way the crime laboratory can determine whether or not a growing plant contains marijuana is by a chemical analysis." Id. at 393. In reversing Phillips' conviction for possession of marijuana, this Court determined that: although the sheriff was permitted to state in his inexpert opinion that these small plants were marijuana, this statement is insufficient to exclude "every other reasonable hypothesis save that of the guilt of the defendant." This conclusion is demanded as a matter of law in view of the testimony of the expert that a marijuana plant is similar in appearance to other hemp plants. It follows that it would be a reasonable hypothesis that the plants could have been hemp and hemp plants do not authorize convictions. Phillips, supra at 393.