Marijuana, Proposition 215: A Legal Update

Marijuana, Proposition 215:  A Legal Update

January, 2016
Robert C. Phillips
Deputy District Attorney (Ret.)

Proposition 215:  On November 6, 1996, the so-called “Compassionate Use Act of 1996” (“CUA”) became effective by popular vote at a general election, adding new Health and Safety Code section 11362.5.  This act legalized the cultivation and use of marijuana when necessary for medical purposes.

H&S § 11362.5(d) provides an affirmative defense for a patient and/or the patient's “primary caregiver” to the charges of simple possession of marijuana (H&S § 11357) and/or cultivation of marijuana (H&S § 11358) when both of the following requirements are met:

• The patient has the “written or oral recommendation or approval” of a physician to use marijuana; and

• The marijuana is cultivated and/or possessed for the “personal medical purposes of the patient.”

The statute further indicates that its purpose is to “ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes . . . in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief.”  (subd. (b)(1)(A)) 

“The chief purposes of Proposition 215 ....

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