Illinois woman faces felony drug charge after cops mistake pistachio shells for marijuana: lawyer

A woman from Round Lake Beach, Illinois is facing a possible felony drug charge after police found a narcotic pain medication in her coat pocket -- which they only discovered because they mistook pistachio shells in her car for marijuana and used it as a pretext to search the entire vehicle.

The Northwest Herald reports that 59-year-old Nancy Pahlman has been charged with possession of a controlled substance after police officers found a bottle of tramodol in her coat pocket that had been prescribed to one of her relatives.

Even though Pahlman actually does have her own prescription for the painkiller, police arrested and charged her anyway for possessing a prescription that was not her own.

However, Pahlman's attorney, Philip Prossnitz, tells the Northwest Herald that police did not have the proper authority to search her car. After pulling Pahlman over for speeding on January 5th, claims Prossnitz, a police officer mistook a pile of pistachio shells in the front of the car for marijuana, despite the fact that the two substances look very different.

Police did not find any actual marijuana in her car, but nonetheless busted her for possession of the pills.

Because of all this, Prossnitz is expressing confidence that Pahlman will not be prosecuted for drug possession.

"I think we are a motion to suppress and a bag of pistachio nuts away from resolving this matter," he tells the Northwest Herald.