Herb Fellow
New Member
Medical Marijuana
Health and Safety Code-11362.5 (d), sections 11357 and 11358, relating to the possession of marijuana, “shall not apply to patients or a patient’s primary caregiver, who cultivates or possesses marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.”
This applies to amounts of marijuana weighing eight ounces or less, six or less mature marijuana plants or twelve or less immature marijuana plants.
Patients or primary caregivers are not required to have a “prescription.” When you encounter a person claiming to be in possession of medical marijuana do not expect to find the usual prescription label affixed to a prescription container you would get from a legitimate pharmacy.
Some medical marijuana users will possess a written recommendation and provide you with a note or letterhead from a doctor. Some users will only have an oral recommendation and possess no paperwork. Make a reasonable effort to call the physician identified to you by the patient or primary caregiver and verify the doctor’s recommendation is valid.
Some medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers for medical marijuana users may have an identification card issued to them by the California Department of Health Services or by a county entity. These identification cards will have a photograph of the patient or primary caregiver on them. The validity of these identification cards can be verified by logging on to
Medical Marijuana Program Verification Screen twenty-four hours a day to verify the card number and card holder’s information. Participation in this medical marijuana identification card program is voluntary and the cards must be renewed annually.
Persons claiming to be “primary caregivers” are allowed to possess amounts of dried marijuana weighing eight ounces or less, up to six mature marijuana plants or up to twelve immature marijuana plants, for each qualified patient they have been designated as the primary caregiver.
Some patients or primary caregivers may possess more marijuana than the basic amount allowed by the state and it will be specified in the physician’s written recommendation.
Persons on parole, probation and criminal defendants released on bail are allowed to posses the permissible amount of marijuana if they are qualified patients whose physicians have allowed them the use of marijuana for their medical condition. This exception must appear in their conditions of
parole, probation, or the court minutes for criminal defendants released on bail. Proving this in the field could be unreasonably time consuming or impossible.
Actual marijuana cultivation investigations are complicated investigations. It is recommended to call the Street Narcotic Unit Sergeant for advice when a cultivation is encountered, to determine whether or not it is a legitimate “medical grow.”
If a person possesses a relatively small amount of marijuana and you reasonably believe they possess it for medical purposes, with or without a “written” recommendation, and there is no evidence of another drug related crime (possession for sales or cultivation), you may allow the person to retain the small amount of marijuana without taking action. (City of Garden Grove v.
Superior Court of Orange County). Filling out a complete FI card is advisable.
Once a patient or primary caregiver’s right to possess medical marijuana is determined to be valid, seized marijuana must be returned by the Department to the patient or primary caregiver.
Bottom line: If you encounter a person on the street that claims to be in possession of medical marijuana and you reasonably believe their claim, send them on their way with their marijuana. If you are not convinced a person has a legal right under Health and Safety Code-11362.5 to possess marijuana you may make the arrest and seize the marijuana. If charges are dropped later
after the defendant is able to prove he or she had a legal right to possess the marijuana at the time of arrest, the marijuana will be returned to the defendant by the Department.
If in doubt about a medical marijuana issue contact a supervisor or the Street Narcotic Unit.
Source: Memorandum by Jones & Mayer, Attorneys at law, December 3, 2007, Vol.22 No. 15 California Penal Code, 2007 Desk Top Edition, Thomson/West
Copyright: 2008, Anaheim Police Department
Contact: Anaheim Police Department Training Detail
Website: MPP Homepage
Health and Safety Code-11362.5 (d), sections 11357 and 11358, relating to the possession of marijuana, “shall not apply to patients or a patient’s primary caregiver, who cultivates or possesses marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician.”
This applies to amounts of marijuana weighing eight ounces or less, six or less mature marijuana plants or twelve or less immature marijuana plants.
Patients or primary caregivers are not required to have a “prescription.” When you encounter a person claiming to be in possession of medical marijuana do not expect to find the usual prescription label affixed to a prescription container you would get from a legitimate pharmacy.
Some medical marijuana users will possess a written recommendation and provide you with a note or letterhead from a doctor. Some users will only have an oral recommendation and possess no paperwork. Make a reasonable effort to call the physician identified to you by the patient or primary caregiver and verify the doctor’s recommendation is valid.
Some medical marijuana patients and primary caregivers for medical marijuana users may have an identification card issued to them by the California Department of Health Services or by a county entity. These identification cards will have a photograph of the patient or primary caregiver on them. The validity of these identification cards can be verified by logging on to
Medical Marijuana Program Verification Screen twenty-four hours a day to verify the card number and card holder’s information. Participation in this medical marijuana identification card program is voluntary and the cards must be renewed annually.
Persons claiming to be “primary caregivers” are allowed to possess amounts of dried marijuana weighing eight ounces or less, up to six mature marijuana plants or up to twelve immature marijuana plants, for each qualified patient they have been designated as the primary caregiver.
Some patients or primary caregivers may possess more marijuana than the basic amount allowed by the state and it will be specified in the physician’s written recommendation.
Persons on parole, probation and criminal defendants released on bail are allowed to posses the permissible amount of marijuana if they are qualified patients whose physicians have allowed them the use of marijuana for their medical condition. This exception must appear in their conditions of
parole, probation, or the court minutes for criminal defendants released on bail. Proving this in the field could be unreasonably time consuming or impossible.
Actual marijuana cultivation investigations are complicated investigations. It is recommended to call the Street Narcotic Unit Sergeant for advice when a cultivation is encountered, to determine whether or not it is a legitimate “medical grow.”
If a person possesses a relatively small amount of marijuana and you reasonably believe they possess it for medical purposes, with or without a “written” recommendation, and there is no evidence of another drug related crime (possession for sales or cultivation), you may allow the person to retain the small amount of marijuana without taking action. (City of Garden Grove v.
Superior Court of Orange County). Filling out a complete FI card is advisable.
Once a patient or primary caregiver’s right to possess medical marijuana is determined to be valid, seized marijuana must be returned by the Department to the patient or primary caregiver.
Bottom line: If you encounter a person on the street that claims to be in possession of medical marijuana and you reasonably believe their claim, send them on their way with their marijuana. If you are not convinced a person has a legal right under Health and Safety Code-11362.5 to possess marijuana you may make the arrest and seize the marijuana. If charges are dropped later
after the defendant is able to prove he or she had a legal right to possess the marijuana at the time of arrest, the marijuana will be returned to the defendant by the Department.
If in doubt about a medical marijuana issue contact a supervisor or the Street Narcotic Unit.
Source: Memorandum by Jones & Mayer, Attorneys at law, December 3, 2007, Vol.22 No. 15 California Penal Code, 2007 Desk Top Edition, Thomson/West
Copyright: 2008, Anaheim Police Department
Contact: Anaheim Police Department Training Detail
Website: MPP Homepage
