Orlosky

— Robert C. Orlosky appeals from a judgment convicting him of marijuana possession and cultivation. He argues the judgment must be reversed because the court refused his request to instruct the jury on the statutory collective cultivation defense, which permits qualified medical marijuana patients to join together to cultivate marijuana to meet their medical needs. The trial court rejected application of the collective cultivation defense on the basis that defendant and his roommate (who were growing marijuana together) had not formed a marijuana collective with some indicia of formality.

The Attorney General acknowledges that an instruction on the collective cultivation defense was likely warranted (although maintaining the particular instruction drafted by defense counsel did not accurately apply to the facts of this case). As we shall explain, although indicia of a formally organized collective may be a relevant evidentiary factor for a jury to evaluate, it is not a mandatory requirement that precludes application of the collective cultivation defense to informal joint cultivation arrangements between two qualified patients who grow marijuana exclusively for their own…