Cruz

Appellant Richard Cruz stands convicted by negotiated guilty plea of a violation of Health and Safety Code section 11352, offering to sell a controlled substance, arising from his attempt to sell a kilo of cocaine to undercover officers. On appeal, appellant contends it was an abuse of discretion for the trial court to find him unfit for civil narcotics addict commitment proceedings (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 3051) based solely upon the circumstances surrounding the instant case and particularly the large amount of drugs possessed. Relying on this court’s opinion in People v. Madden (1979) 98 Cal.App.3d 249 [ 159 Cal.Rptr. 381 ], appellant argues that the quantity of narcotics involved is an improper ground for refusing to initiate commitment proceedings and the only factor properly considered under section 3051—the defendant’s criminal record—did not support a finding of excessive criminality in this case.

As explained below, we reaffirm our holding in Madden that excessive criminality is the only factor properly considered by the court in deciding whether to order filing of a petition for commitment of a possible addict to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC).…