CALCRIM No. 3415. Lawful Use Defense (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.1)
Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2025 edition)
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3415.Lawful Use Defense (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.1)
It is lawful for a person 21 years of age or older to do any of the
following:
[(Possess[,]/ [or] process[,]/ [or] transport[,]/ [or] purchase[,]/ [or]
obtain[,]/ [or] give away to persons 21 years of age or older), without
receiving compensation, no more than 28.5 grams of cannabis [that is
not in the form of concentrated cannabis.]]
[(Possess[,]/ [or] process[,]/ [or] transport[,]/ [or] purchase[,]/ [or]
obtain[,]/ [or] give away to persons 21 years of age or older) without
receiving compensation, no more than eight grams of cannabis in the
form of concentrated cannabis, including concentrated cannabis
contained in cannabis products.]
[(Possess[,]/ [or] plant[,]/ [or] cultivate[,]/ [or] harvest[,]/ [or] dry[,]/ [or]
process) no more than six living cannabis plants and possess the
cannabis produced by those plants.]
[Smoke or ingest cannabis or cannabis products.]
[(Possess[,]/ [or] transport[,]/ [or] purchase[,]/ [or] obtain[,]/ [or] use[,]/
[or] manufacture[,]/ [or] give away to persons 21 years of age or older
without receiving compensation) cannabis accessories.]
The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that
the defendant did not lawfully (possess[,]/ [or] transport[,]/ [or]
purchase[,]/ [or] obtain[,]/ [or] give away[,]/ [or] plant[,]/ [or] cultivate[,]/
[or] harvest[,]/ [or] dry[,]/ [or] process) (cannabis[,]/ [or] concentrated
cannabis[,]/ [or] cannabis products.) If the People have not met this
burden, you must find the defendant not guilty of this crime.
[Cannabis means all or part of the Cannabis sativa L. plant, whether
growing or not, including the seeds and resin extracted from any part of
the plant. [It also includes every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin.]]
<If applicable, give the definition of industrial hemp: Health & Saf. Code,
§ 11018.5>
[Cannabis does not include industrial hemp. Industrial hemp means a
fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that only contain types of the plant
Cannabis sativa L. with no more than three-tenths of 1 percent
tetrahydrocannabinol from the dried flowering tops, whether growing or
not. It may include the seeds of the plant; the resin extracted from any
part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative,
mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin produced from the
seeds.]
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[Under the law, a person becomes one year older as soon as the first
minute of his or her birthday has begun.]
New September 2018
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
Pursuant to Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.1, certain activities involving cannabis are
lawful. Give the relevant bracketed paragraphs on defense request.
This instruction does not apply to offenses charged under Health & Saf. Code,
§§ 11362.2, 11362.3, and 11362.4, nor to any of the offenses enumerated in Health
& Saf. Code § 11362.45.
AUTHORITY
• Elements. Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11362.1, 11362.2, 11362.3, 11362.4, 11362.45.
• Definition of Cannabis. Health & Saf. Code, § 11018.
• Definition of Industrial Hemp. Health & Saf. Code, § 11018.5.
3416-3424. Reserved for Future Use
DEFENSES AND INSANITY CALCRIM No. 3415
2223
© Judicial Council of California.
