Possession of Marijuana & Cannabis Law & Defense: HS 11357. CA Criminal Defense Lawyers Explain Health & Safety Code 11357.
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Possession of marijuana or cannabis is both legal, and in some situations, illegal in California (HS 11357).
The following summarizes the law, penalty and common defenses against criminal charges of marijuana possession. This summary also covers situations where possession of marijuana or cannabis is legal in California.
HS 11357 Law
According to California law, the following situations make possession of marijuana or cannabis a crime:
Less Than Ounce of Marijuana or Cannabis: Except as authorized by law (See Below), possession of less than 28.5 grams (1 ounce) of cannabis, or not more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, or both, is punished as follows:
Infraction for Minors in Possession of Less than 1 Ounce of Marijuana: Persons under 18 years of age are guilty of an infraction and shall be required to complete four hours of drug education or counseling and up to 10 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 60 days (HS 11357)
Note: Second offense of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana for a minor requires completion of six hours of drug education or counseling and up to 20 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 90 days (HS 11357).
Infraction for Person Over 18 & Less Than 21 in Possession of Less than 1 Ounces of Marijuana: Persons at least 18 years of age but less than 21 years of age are guilty of an infraction and punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100).
Possession of More Than One Ounce of Marijuana: Except as authorized by law, possession of more than 28.5 grams of cannabis (1 ounce), or more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, shall be punished as follows:
Minors in Poss. of More than 1 oz of Marijuana or Cannabis: Persons under 18 years of age who possess more than 28.5 grams of cannabis or more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, or both, are guilty of an infraction and shall be required to complete eight hours of drug education or counseling and up to 40 hours of community service (HS 11357)
Note: A second offense of a minor in possession of more than an ounce of marijuana or cannabis requires completion of 10 hours of drug education or counseling and up to 60 hours of community service over a period not to exceed 120 days (HS 11357).
Misdemeanor Sentence: Persons 18 years of age or older who possess more than 28.5 grams of cannabis (1 ounce), or more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, or both, may be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than six (6) months or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or by both that fine and imprisonment (HS 11357).
Adult in Possession of Less than 1 Ounces of Marijuana on School Grounds: Except as authorized by law (See Below), a person 18 years of age or older who possesses not more than 28.5 grams of cannabis, or not more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, on any school grounds, (i.e., K-12 School), during school-related hours or programs, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be punished by a fine of up to $250 dollars (first offense), and fine of up to $500 dollars plus up to 10 days in the county jail (second offense) [HS 11357]:
Minor in Possession of Marijuana on School Grounds: Except as authorized by law, a person under 18 years of age who possesses not more than 28.5 grams of cannabis, or not more than eight grams of concentrated cannabis, upon the grounds of, or within, any school providing instruction in K-12, during school hours or school-related programs is guilty of an infraction, punishable by fine not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) [First Offense], of fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than 10 days in jail, or both [Second Offense] (HS 11357).
Defense to HS 11357
In some situations, the possession of marijuana or cannabis is legal. These situations include when the defendant has a medical marijuana prescription (Recommendation Card) and the possession is less than one ounce of marijuana or cannabis for personal use.
Other defenses to HS 11357 are more traditional and include coerced confession, illegal search and seizure, failure of law enforcement to properly Mirandize the defendant, mistake of fact as to the nature of the drug possessed, insufficient evidence to prove defendant possessed the marijuana or cannabis, duress, statute of limitations, and more.
Drug Court: In some situations, the defendant may attend drug court diversion instead of facing criminal prosecution for HS 11357 charges. Drug court diversion is a circumvention of criminal prosecution when the defendant agrees to attend and complete drug treatment.
Post-Conviction Relief: After conviction for misdemeanor possession of marijuana or cannabis (HS 11357), the defendant might be entitled to some form of post-conviction relief, depending on the circumstances. These include withdraw of a guilty plea (PC 1018), expungement of misdemeanor conviction (PC 1203.4), appeal the misdemeanor conviction, and more.
For more information on the legal and illegal possession of marijuana or cannabis, including penalties for more than an ounce of marijuana or cannabis and common defenses to both infraction and misdemeanor charges of HS 11357, contact our criminal defense lawyers today for a free consultation.
Our Redlands-based criminal defense lawyers handle felony, misdemeanor and infraction drug charges in the Inland Empire, including poss. of Marijuana (HS 11357), possession of controlled substance for sale (HS 11351), possession of meth, and more.
We represent client charged in all Inland Empire Court, including San Bernardino, Riverside, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rialto, Redlands, Yucaipa, Victorville, Jurupa Valley, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Hesperia, Highland, and more. Call today!
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