Ahern

Defendant has appealed from the judgment entered upon his conviction of violating section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, furnishing a marijuana cigarette to one Patricia McGuire, a minor.

The principal issues are (1) asserted error in the refusal of certain instructions requested by the defendant, and (2) asserted error in permitting an amendment of the information to add a count charging commission of the offense for which the defendant now stands convicted.

(1) The defendant requested and the court refused the following cautionary instmctions concerning accomplices and their testimony: “You are instructed that an accomplice is one who has been concerned in the commission, of a crime, whether he or she has directly committed the act or aided and abetted in its commission, and is liable to prosecution for the identical offense charged against the defendant,” and “You are further instructed that, as a matter of law, it is your duty as jurors to view the testimony of an accomplice with distrust.”

Proper instructions on this subject were necessary in view of testimony of the prosecution witness, Patricia McGuire, tending to prove that one of the other witnesses against…