You May Be Allowed to Smoke Marijuana While on Felony Probation

Fifteen years after the passage Proposition 215, the San Diego County Probation Department is just now adopting a set of rules on how they will handle sentencing recommendations for medical marijuana patients who have felony probation matters. The Probation Department, of course, makes written recommendations to felony sentencing judges on conditions of probation for felony criminal defendants. The standard recommendation is to prohibit the use of all controlled substances, including marijuana, while on felony probation. The judges always adopt this recommendation. However, the Department will now start making recommendations as to whether a medical marijuana patient should be allowed to continue use of marijuana while on felony probation. While the rules have not been published, I believe that the following guidelines will be in effect from this day forward.

For those patients that are to be sentenced to a grant of felony probation, to lawfully use marijuana the defendant should:

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1. Consult with their attorney.
2. Obtain a recommendation for the use of marijuana from a licensed physician.
3. Obtain a Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) from the San Diego Department of Health and Human Services. For more information phone 619-692-5723. The San Diego County Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) Program provides patients with the State medical marijuana identification card, a voluntary card registration program that identifies medical marijuana patients under the Compassionate Use Act.
4. Obtain a letter from their personal physician detailing a diagnosis of a medical condition that is currently being treated. The letter must come from the physician actually providing the treatment.
5. Inform the probation officer who is making the sentencing recommendation of the need to use marijuana. The officer will consider the quality of the information provided and make a recommendation to the court.
6. The sentencing judge will make the final decision and must approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes while on probation.

For those patients already on a grant of felony probation, the defendant should:

1. Consult with a lawyer.
2. Obtain a recommendation for the use of marijuana from a licensed physician.
3. Obtain a Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) from the San Diego Department of Health and Human Services. See, above.
4. Obtain a letter from their personal physician detailing a diagnosis of a medical condition that is currently being treated. The letter must come from a physician proving the treatment.
5. Notify the supervising probation officer of the need to use marijuana.
6. Obtain a modification of probation to obtain the judge’s approval for the medicinal use of marijuana while on probation. This means another trip to court in order to obtain a judge’s approval. For information on modification of probation, refer to the reduced Sentencing and Probation page.

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Domenic Lombardo

Domenic J. Lombardo, Attorney at Law and a member of California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), graduated from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), earning a B.A. in Economics-Business, before graduating with his J.D. from University of California, Hastings School of Law. Mr. Lombardo has been practicing as a criminal defense lawyer in San Diego for nearly 30 years, having started at the San Diego Office of the Public Defender in 1991 and then opened the Law Office of Domenic J. Lombardo in early 1996 as a sole practitioner. His practice is dedicated entirely to the defense of individuals accused of crimes and university misconduct, including Title IX allegations. While Mr. Lombardo works as the primary attorney for all his cases, he does have a team of investigators, forensic consultants, and paralegals to call on to help achieve the best possible result in every case. When he is not working, Mr. Lombardo is a family man, triathlete, and world traveler.

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