People v. McClean CA3

DISCUSSION

At the time of defendant’s conviction, section 11379, subdivision (a), provided that, with exceptions inapplicable here, “every person who transports . . . any controlled substance . . . unless upon the prescription of a physician . . . shall be punished by imprisonment . . . for a period of two, three, or four years.” Nothing in section 11379 specified any required intent, and case law had construed the statute to cover any

2 transportation of a controlled substance with knowledge of its presence and illegal character, regardless of whether the defendant intended to sell the drug. (People v. Emmal (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th 1313, 1317; People v. Eastman (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 668, 676-677.) Effective January 1, 2014, after defendant’s conviction and sentencing, but while his case was pending on appeal, section 11379 was amended to add subdivision (c), which states, “For purposes of this section, ‘transports’ means to transport for sale.” The legislative history of the amendment shows that the Legislature intended to criminalize the transportation of drugs for the purpose of sale and not the transportation of drugs for nonsales purposes such as personal use. (See Assem.…