Tag Archives: Controlled Substance


Controlled Substances: Usable Quantity Element
June 10th, 2021

PC 4573 bars transporting “any controlled substance” into a correctional facility. People v. Blanco (Feb. 24, 2021, E073176) 61 Cal.App.5th 278 [pp. 12] concluded that “the Legislature intended for a usable quantity to be an element of section 4573.”   Accordingly, CC 2304 correctly requires the jury to find usable quantity as an element a […]


Tags: , ,


CC 2300 — Transportation of a Controlled Substance — Does Not Adequately Explain the Specific Intent Element of the Offense
March 6th, 2018

Effective January 1, 2014, Health and Safety Code section 11379 was amended to limit the meaning of “transports” under the statute to transportation “for sale.” The jury instruction for section 11379 offenses was modified to reflect the 2014 amendment to the statute by inserting the words “for sale” after the word “transported” — “To prove […]


Tags: , , , , , , ,


MMPA Is Broader than CUA
November 20th, 2015

The instruction in People v. London was found to be inadequate because it was based solely on the Compassionate Use Act (“CUA”) and did not comport with provisions of the Medical Marijuana Program Act (“MMPA”). (People v. London (2014) 228 Cal. App. 4th 544, 564.) The CUA allows a patient and his or her primary […]


Tags: , ,


Small Amount of Controlled Substance Relevant to Knowledge
November 16th, 2015

CC 2376 defines usable amount as an amount in a quantity sufficient to be used as a controlled substance, claiming that there is no requirement that the amount be enough to affect the user. However, the California Supreme Court has made it clear that a very small amount of a controlled substance is relevant to […]


Tags: , , , ,


Marijuana Distribution: Minimal Movement as Defense Theory
November 13th, 2015

CC 2361 defines the term “transports” as carrying or moving an item from one location to another, even if the distance is short. However, minimal movement that does not facilitate use or trafficking does not qualify as transportation. The requirement of volitional transport of methamphetamine from one location to another avoids any unwarranted extension of […]


Tags: , , , ,


Manufacturing Chemical That Is Not Controlled Substance: Limited To Methamphetamine
October 1st, 2014

  People v. Bergen (2008) 166 Cal.App. 4th 161, observed that language in CC 2330 stating that an element of manufacturing under H&S § 11379.6(a) is that the “defendant engaged in the synthesis, processing, or preparation of a chemical that is not itself a controlled substance” is only appropriate in prosecutions for manufacturing methamphetamine.   […]


Tags: , ,


Transporting Marijuana: Compassionate Use Act (CUA) Defense
September 30th, 2014

  CC 2361 sets forth criteria that must be satisfied for the defense to apply, including whether “the method, timing and distance of the transportation were reasonably related to the patient’s current medical needs. These criteria are derived from a test developed by the Court of Appeal in People v. Trippet (1997) 56 Cal. App. […]


Tags: , ,