A 29-year-old man was arrested on Thursday, February 3, at a home in Redondo Beach for operating an illegal medical marijuana courier service, The Daily Breeze reports. Police served the man with a search warrant and found more than 600 marijuana plants in various stages of growth, along with equipment used for home cultivation. Police also confiscated equipment and products that could be potentially used to manufacture methamphetamine and other drugs.
California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, making cultivation and possession of marijuana for medical use legal in the Golden State. However, the law gets complicated because possession or use of marijuana – medical or recreational – is still illegal under federal law. Under California law, medical marijuana patients can form collectives to grow and provide marijuana to each other. Often, such collectives are organized informally.
There is no question that the California laws relating to medical marijuana are murky. Thousands of medical marijuana growers and patients are still arrested across the state. Possessing or growing marijuana in California is defensible because it is legal in this state, although it continues to be banned by federal law. A narcotics conviction, especially for distribution or sale, can still result in serious penalties, including prison time.
If you have been arrested for using, possessing, or growing marijuana for medical purposes in Los Angeles, please remember that you have legal rights. Please contact the law offices of Sitkoff & Hanrahan to find out more information about your legal rights and options with one of our Los Angeles marijuana defense lawyers. Call us today at 866-430-8383 for a free consultation and case evaluation.