Cultivation

LAW:

• Persons who plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process even one plant are guilty of a felony. (California’s medical marijuana laws protect patients and their caregivers. Refer to the “Medical Marijuana Laws” section of the guide.)

• Unless probation is granted (and usually is), the sentencing range is 16 months, 2 or 3 years in state prison, and a fine of up to $10,000. Persons under 21 will lose their driver’s license for 1 year. This is a deportable offense for non-citizens.

PLANTS ALONE MAY ALLEGEDLY BE POSSESSED FOR SALE:

• The defense may be able to refute the prosecution’s charge of possession for sale in cultivation cases by introducing the 1992 DEA Cannabis Yields Study, which states that (saleable) marijuana buds comprise less than 10% of the total net weight of the plants.

TOO MANY PLANTS FOR DEFERRED ENTRY PROGRAM:

• The prosecution may object to DEJ by contending the cultivation is not for personal use, even though possession for sale is not charged. The defendant is entitled to a hearing to decide whether or not DEJ will be granted over the prosecutor’s objection.

FEDERAL MARIJUANA LAWS:

• In Federal Courts, and in some states other than California, the number of plants presumptively determines the length of the prison sentence. Under Federal law, there are mandatory sentencing laws of five years for 100+ plants, and a mandatory sentencing of 10 years for 1,000+ plants, no matter how big or what stage, even just rooted seedlings.

PROTECTION FROM POLICE WITH FENCES:

• Fully-enclosed residential yards with 6-foot fences are legally protected from police observation. However, if the police can view plants in other ways for example, from a neighbor’s property or from aircraft, they can obtain a warrant.

TRASH CANS ARE NOT PROTECTED:

• If left outside the property. Trash cans left outside the property can be searched without a warrant. If plants or other incriminating items constituting probable cause are found, a search warrant can be issued for the residence and the entire property.

HIGH ELECTRIC BILLS AND PROBABLE CAUSE FOR SEARCH WARRANT:

• Indoor cultivation busts are often the result of unusually large electric bills (compared to others in the neighborhood) combined with informant tips, or the smell detected from outside the property. Electric bills are not constitutionally protected, so they may be obtained without a warrant or probable cause.

THEFT OF ELECTRICITY:

• Persons who tap electric lines, or otherwise bypass conventional metering, will also face felony grand theft charges; the cultivation case is more complicated in particular when there is a medical defense potential.