Criminal offenses often include “possession” among the elements necessary to prove the crime. While in many cases the issue of possession is straightforward, under other scenarios possession can become a grey area, or area of contention. Typically, that happens when the charges are based on the allegation that the defendant “What Is Constructive Possession?”

In 1996, voters passed the Compassionate Use Act (CUA) to ensure that seriously ill Californians were able to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes, and to ensure that patients and caregivers were not going to be criminally prosecuted for using marijuana.  The Legislature then enacted the Medical Marijuana Program “Large Marijuana Collectives Protected from Prosecution”

Drug crimes are regulated by state and federal laws.  Many states, including California, have based their laws on the federal Controlled Substances Act.  This Act regulates the manufacture, import, possession, use and distribution of certain substances.  The Act categorizes all federally regulated substances into one of five “schedules.”  The category, “Classifications of Drugs and Related Crimes”

Marijuana has been classified by the federal government as a Schedule I controlled substance.  A Schedule I classification is the most strict classification and indicates a lack of medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.  Doctors are not permitted to write prescriptions for marijuana and there are severe restrictions “Marijuana – Still a Schedule I Controlled Substance?”