Opinion No. (2003)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE ANTHONY J. CRAVER, SHERIFF-CORONER, COUNTY OF MENDOCINO, has requested an opinion on the following question: Is concentrated cannabis or hashish included within the meaning of "marijuana" as that term is used in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996? CONCLUSION Concentrated cannabis or hashish is included within the meaning of "marijuana" as that term is used in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. ANALYSIS On November 5, 1996, the voters of California adopted Proposition 215, an initiative statute authorizing the medical use of marijuana. (People v. Mower (2002) 28 Cal.4th 457 , 463 ; People v. Bianco (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 748 , 751 ; People v. Rigo (1999) 69 Cal.App.4th 409 , 412 .) The measure added section 11362.5 to the Health and Safety Code 1 and entitled the statute the "Compassionate Use Act of 1996." (§ 11362.5 , subd. (a).) Section 11362.5 "creates an exception to California laws prohibiting the possession and cultivation of marijuana." (United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (2001) 532 U.S. 483 , 486 .) "These prohibitions no longer apply to a patient or his primary…