Opinion ID: 2491001
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Support of Family and Attending to Business

Text: ¶ 75. There was minimal evidence that James's marihuana use substantially affected his earning capability. Trial testimony showed that James worked every day of the marriage except for brief periods of time when he lost employment due to his job being discontinued or, in one case, his company going bankrupt after Hurricane Katrina. As the majority notes, the Carambats' financial difficulties were primarily caused by these layoffs. Stacy was able to argue only one instance in which marihuana use affected James's job performance: an instance where James was demoted for botching a printing job. Stacy testified that James had told her that his drug use played a part in this incident. ¶ 76. On cross-examination, Stacy was impeached with her deposition, in which she was questioned about the demotion. Stacy admitted that, to her knowledge, James's demotion was not caused by, and was never connected to, James's drug use. When specifically asked whether this work incident was due to a mistake or a result of James's drug use, Stacy answered that it was a mistake. The evidence does not show that, by smoking marihuana, James's work productivity was affected. The majority finds that James's marihuana use did affect his work productivity, but solely based on James's demotion, which the evidence does not show was based on James's marihuana usage. A statement by Stacy, later contradicted on cross-examination, that James had stated to her that his demotion was based on his drug use, is insufficient to show that James's drug use caused him to fail to attend to his business or support his family. ¶ 77. Stacy admitted that James's expenditures on marihuana were a minimal portion of the family incomeapproximately $300 annually out of a combined annual income of approximately $70,000. James's expenditures on marihuana may have been wasteful, but a $300-a-year habit for a family with an annual income of $70,000 is hardly grounds for a divorce. ¶ 78. James's abuse of marihuana was heavy, but there is minimal evidence that his family or work was impacted. James's admittedly wasteful spending on the marihuana was minor, and only one incident was reported indicating that James had failed to attend normally to business as a result of his drug use, and the only testimony concerning this one incident was successfully impeached by prior testimony. There was also uncontested evidence that the main cause for the decline in the family income was linked to events outside James's control, as the majority opinion concedes. After consideration of these factors, I conclude that it was an abuse of discretion for the chancellor to find that James's use of marihuana met the effect test as a like drug to opium and morphine.