Dowl

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA) (Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5) 1 and the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP; § 11362.7 et seq.) authorize use of marijuana for medical purposes under certain circumstances. We granted review in this case to consider issues relating to expert testimony when a criminal defendant defends against a charge of possession of marijuana for purposes of sale by introducing evidence that, under these statutes, he legally possessed the marijuana for medical purposes. Defendant Lewis Marcus Dowl, who asserted such a defense, contends the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish his intent to sell because the expert who opined at trial on that subject lacked experience distinguishing between lawful possession for medical use and unlawful possession for purposes of sale. *1082 Insofar as defendant argues the expert’s opinion was inadmissible or insufficient because the witness was unqualified, we find that defendant forfeited the argument by failing to object at trial to the witness’s qualifications. Insofar as defendant otherwise contends the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction, we disagree. We therefore affirm the…

I concur in the court’s judgment affirming the judgment of the Court of Appeal. I write separately to state my view regarding the impact of the procedural forfeiture created by defendant’s failure to object at trial to the testimony of a prosecution expert on distinguishing possession of marijuana for sale from possession for personal use.

As the majority states, defendant contends the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish possession of marijuana for sale (Health & Saf. Code, § 11359) because the expert who opined on that subject at trial, one of the arresting officers, lacked training and experience distinguishing between lawful possession for medical use, which defendant advanced as a defense, and unlawful possession for purposes of sale. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 1081.) I concur fully in the court’s rejection of this insufficient evidence claim. Despite defendant’s claim he possessed the marijuana only for his personal medical use, the trial record is replete with evidence of circumstances “not to be expected in connection with a patient lawfully using the drugs as medicine” (People v. Hunt (1971) 4 Cal.3d 231, 238 [ 93 Cal.Rptr. 197 , 481 P.2d 205 ] (Hunt)),…

I. Facts

On Saturday, November 29, 2008, a little after 4:00 p.m., two police officers stopped defendant for playing loud music in his car. Defendant presented his driver‟s license and a medical marijuana identification (ID) card with an expiration date of August 21, 2009, and said there was marijuana in the car. A search revealed $21 in cash, a WD-40 can with a hidden compartment containing marijuana residue, and a total of over two ounces of marijuana: 17.2 grams in a single bag in defendant‟s pocket, three grams in each of 10 bags in the driver‟s door, and 6.5 grams in each of three bags on the backseat. Defendant did not exhibit signs of being under the influence of marijuana and possessed nothing that would be used for ingesting marijuana, such as pipes or rolling papers. His belt buckle read, “CA$H ONLY.” Based on these circumstances, an information charged defendant with unlawful transportation of marijuana in violation of section 11360, subdivision (a), and unlawful possession of marijuana for purposes of sale in violation of section 11359. At trial, Officer Jason Williamson, who was one of the arresting officers, testified that in his expert opinion, defendant possessed…