P. v. Stanton

Filed 3/17/06 P. v. Stanton CA1/1

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

A jury convicted defendant Kenneth Michael Stanton of unlawful possession of marijuana for sale. Defendant admitted growing and distributing marijuana, but contended at trial that he was lawfully furnishing medical marijuana to qualified patients in accordance with provisions of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Health & Saf. Code,^[1] § 11362.5) and related medical marijuana statutes. On appeal, defendant urges that his conviction resulted from a series of instructional errors by the trial court. We affirm the judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant was charged by amended information with unlawful possession of marijuana for sale (§ 11359; count I), unlawful cultivation of marijuana (§ 11358; count II), and misdemeanor unlawful possession of more than 28.5 grams of marijuana (§ 11357, subd. (c); count III). A jury trial commenced on June 2, 2004.

A. Prosecution Case

On May 6, 2003, Officer Tim Celli of the Clearlake Police Department, on assignment to the Lake County Narcotics Task Force, participated with another officer in the search of a residence on Bleuss Way in the City of Cobb. The officers found utility bills and bank statements addressed to defendant at the Bleuss Way residence. In the garage, officers found a cooler containing approximately two pounds of marijuana sealed in bags.

On the same day, Officer Matthew Larsen of the California Highway Patrol, accompanied by other officers assigned to the Task Force as well as a deputy probation officer, conducted a probation search at an address in a remote location on Gray Road in the Kelseyville area.[2] The officers contacted defendant as he started to walk away from the residence. Officers found receipts for $1,500 in money orders in defendant's pockets.

Inside the residence, officers found a utility bill and a magazine cover addressed to defendant at the Gray Road address. In the kitchen cupboard, officers found a bag containing 4.27 pounds of processed marijuana. In the dining room, officers found a plastic tub containing 28 small marijuana plants. Officers found another pound of processed marijuana in the living room, 52 marijuana plants in one bedroom, and 26 plants in another bedroom. In the master bedroom, officers found a garbage bag containing 22.5 pounds of processed marijuana as well as two cloth pouches containing a total of $31,650 in cash. Outside the residence, officers located another 29 marijuana plants.

Defendant had failed to report his Gray Road address to the probation department. Although he made monthly reports to the probation department on his income and expenses, he did not list his rental and other expenses for the Gray Road operation, reported having only a few hundred dollars in cash, and did not disclose the income or expenses relating to his marijuana growing.

B. Defense Case

Defendant testified that he received recommendations from his personal physician and a psychiatrist to use medical marijuana for various ailments, including anxiety, nausea, insomnia, appetite loss, and chronic pain. Beginning in 1997 or 1998, he became a caregiver by providing marijuana to patients.[3] He began growing marijuana in 1998 or 1999. He intended to create a cooperative for medical marijuana users.

Defendant testified that he grew marijuana for 7 to 10 medical marijuana patients. Each month he would provide a month's supply of marijuana to each patient. Depending on their financial ability, the patients contributed â€