Robert M. Bernstein, Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney discusses Medical Marijuana, is it legal to possess or grow Marijuana in California for medicinal purposes?

In 1996, California voters passed a ballot proposition to legalize the possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical use. However, ever since its passage there has been continuing misunderstanding of what is legal or not legal in regards to marijuana possession in California. In 2004, the California legislature passed a law codified as Health and Safety code section 11362.7 et. seq, which offers legal definitions and provides procedures regarding medical marijuana. It provides that the possession and cultivation of marijuana is legal if prescribed by a licensed physician as long as there are no indicia of sale or commercial use. Further, that a medical caregiver may possess six mature marijuana plants for medicinal purposes. However, each individual city or municipality may adopt its own guidelines that as long as they are not more restrictive than the state law.

Further complicating this issue is the fact that although California has made medical marijuana legal, it is still illegal under the United States Federal Law. In 2005, this conflict between the state and federal law was argued before the United States Supreme Court, which held that the California state medical marijuana law does not protect someone for the illegal possession and cultivation of marijuana under Federal Law. Therefore, even though a person may be in compliance with the California medical marijuana laws, they may still be prosecuted and imprisoned by federal prosecutors in federal court for the violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.