Every person who plants, cultivates, harvests, dries, or processes any marijuana or any part thereof, except as otherwise provided by law, shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code.
Elements:
The HS 11358 statute is written very broadly to encompass many acts associated with growing marijuana. The acts of handling and planting the seeds into soil and later drying the plant is a criminal act under the statute. One should also consider that growing more than one plant opens him/her to criminal changes under HS 11359. Police and prosecutors office often charge a person withpossession with intent to sell marijuana if more than one plant is found during the search.
Most Common Defenses:
California has passed a medical marijuana program in 1996. A medical marijuana patient cannot be prosecuted under HS 11358 if he/she is growing within the established guidelines. Under the guidelines, a qualified patient and/or his/her primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana and/or six mature (or 12 immature) marijuana plants. Technically, the law allows patients to possess even larger amounts of marijuana if a larger quantity is recommended by a physician to treat certain medical conditions.
Please remember, that California medical program has been passed by the STATE of California. This means that the federal government can still prosecute medical marijuana patients because marijuana remains on the federal list of illicit controlled substances.
Search
The 4th amendment protects a person from unreasonable searches and seizures. Searches conducted by the police must be based on probable cause and with a valid search warrant or pursuant to a valid exception to a warrant requirement. If police conducts an illegal search than the evidence found will be suppressed.
Punishment
A person convicted under HS11358 faces between 16 mos – 3 years in California State Prison.
Please call 619-357-6677 for a consultation. Attorneys at LAWSTACHE LAW FIRM focus on marijuana cases. We are members of NORML in California, Nevada, and Utah.
Related Drug Crimes
- Possession of a Controlled Substance in California | HS 11350 (a)
- Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Sell | HS 11351
- Transportation for Sale of a Controlled Substance| HS 11352
- Possession of Marijuana | Health and Safety Code Section 11357 | HS 11357
- Marijuana Cultivation, Harvest, Plant | HS 11358
- Possession of Marijuana for Sale | Health and Safety Code 11359 | HS 11359
- Marijuana Sale, Giving Away, Transportation | California Health and Safety Code Section 11360 | HS 11360
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia | California Health and Safety Code 11364 | HS 11364
- Possession of Methamphetamine (Meth) | HS 11377
- Manufacturing a Controlled Substance (Marijuana, Hash Oil, etc.) | HS 11379.6(a)
- What to do if pulled over with marijuana in trunk of car working for marijuana dispensary?
- Transporting Marijuana across International Border (US-Mexico)