Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Hello.....

Can you please tell me what could be the possible punishment for this situation my sone has gotten into? He is 28 yrs old and is on summery probation for a D.U.I. from 2 years ago. Last month, he was pulled over by an officer and they did a search and found 2 small little baggies of marijuana on him so they arrested him for sales. I beleive the code is PC11360A. My son has a medical Marijuana license, however he did not have it on him when he was stopped by the officer. The 2 baggies were both little samples that he had gotten from the marijuana dispensary and were not to sell to someone else. Will this case be dismissed?

Thank you in advance for your help


Asked on 10/16/09, 2:18 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert Marshall Law Office of Robert L, Marshall

Health & Safety Code 11360(a) is transportation or sale of marijuana. It is a felony punishable by up to four years in state prison. Possession of marijuana for sale, Health & Safety Code 11359. is punishable by up to three years in prison.

If he was only in possession of two small bags of marijuana -- without other indicia of sales, such as lists of customers (called pay/owe sheets), packaging material, scales, or large amounts of cash -- there is probably a decent chance the case will be dismissed once his lawyer provides proof that he had a physician's recommendation to use medical cannabis.

However, your son definitely needs a lawyer to help him, and there may be other facts that could affect the outcome of this case. If he can't afford a lawyer, he should ask the judge to appoint the Public Defender to represent him.

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Answered on 10/16/09, 5:02 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Dismissed?? The police and DA don't spend the time and money to arrest, investigate, charge and prosecute cases just to 'drop' them because the defendant thinks they should. However, yes, there may be defenses to the charge[s] if he was fully in compliance with the CA med marijuana laws at the time of arrest. He was arrested because he wasn't, he didn't have his prescription or card as required. His attorney will use whatever facts and evidence there is to negotiate a 'deal', or take it to trial if necessary. If serious about doing this right, feel free to contact me. Lucky for him it wasn't a federal arrest with mandatory prison time under codes that don't honor CA's little foray into political correctness on this issue.

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Answered on 10/16/09, 6:48 pm


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