California Health and Safety Code section § 11362.5
(Compassionate Use Act) permits the use of marijuana for medical
reasons. Under the Act, no physician in California shall be punished, denied any right or privilege, for recommending marijuana to a patient medical purposes. Also, the laws dealing with the possession of
marijuana, do not apply to a patient, or to a patient’s primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of physician.
However, even doctors, patients, and caregivers can still be arrested and criminally prosecuted for possessing marijuana. The California courts have held that a defendant charged with a marijuana crime must raise reasonable doubt regarding the compassionate use defense. So a person can still be arrested and criminally prosecuted for possession and/or transportation of marijuana.
Shouldn’t the threat of arrest and prosecution be enough to insure
that dispensaries operate legally?
By: Fay Arfa, Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney