| |  | | | | | | 24 Hour Assistance
call toll free: (800) 931-0450 | more info | | | | Need Bail
(562) 597-7377 (562) 858-1450 | more info | | | | DUI Specialist
Your World-Class California DUI Lawyer | more info | | | | Case Results
A Lawyer thatworks for you | more info | | | | :: iTEMS OF INTEREST ::
Supreme Court of California case
People v. Mower, 28 Cal. 4th 457
2002
The citizen was a diabetic patient whose physician advised him to use marijuana for medical purposes. The Tuolumne County, California, Sheriff's Department searched defendant's home and found seven marijuana plants. The Court of Appeal of California , Fifth Appellate District, affirmed his conviction for possession and cultivation of marijuana. The citizen sought review of the order. At the general election held on November 5, 1996, the California electors approved an initiative adding California Health & Safety Code section 11362.5, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Cal. Health & Safety Code section 11362.5(d) stated that Cal. Health & Safety Code ' 11357, criminalizing the possession of marijuana, and Cal. Health & Safety Code ' 11358, criminalizing the cultivation of marijuana, did not apply to a patient, or to a patient's primary caregiver, who possessed or cultivated marijuana for medical purposes.
The issue in the present suit involved the extent to which Cal. Health & Safety Code ' 11362.5(d) provided immunity from arrest or a defense at trial. Our state supreme court concluded as follows: (1) ' 11362.5(d) did not grant any immunity from arrest; (2) ' 11362.5(d) did not confer complete immunity from prosecution; however, (3) ' 11362.5(d) allowed a defendant to raise his or her status as a qualified patient or primary caregiver by moving to set aside an indictment or as a defense at trial.The Supreme Court sent the case back for a new jury trial.
| | | |
