AB 246

Current law prohibits a person from possessing or attempting to possess;

possessing with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or deliver; and

manufacturing, distributing, or delivering marijuana. The penalties vary based on

the amount of marijuana or plants involved or the number of previous

controlled-substance convictions the person has. Current law also allows local

governments to enact ordinances prohibiting the possession of marijuana.

This bill eliminates 1) the penalty for possession of marijuana if the amount of

marijuana involved is no more than 25 grams; 2) the penalty for manufacturing or

for possessing with the intent to manufacture, distribute, or deliver if the amount of

marijuana involved is no more than 25 grams or the number of plants involved is no

more than two; and 3) the penalty for distributing or delivering marijuana if the

amount of marijuana involved is no more than 25 grams or the number of plants

involved is no more than two. The bill retains the current-law penalty for

distributing or delivering any amount of marijuana to a person who is no more than

17 years of age (minor) by a person who is at least three years older than the minor.

This bill limits local governments to enacting ordinances prohibiting only the

possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana.

The bill also prohibits establishing probable cause that a person is violating the

prohibition against possessing more than 25 grams of marijuana by an odor of

marijuana or by the possession of not more than 25 grams of marijuana.

Current law requires that, when determining the weight of controlled

substances, the weight includes the weight of the controlled substance together with

any compound, mixture, or other substance mixed or combined with the controlled

substance. Under this bill, when determining the amount of tetrahydrocannabinols,

only the weight of the marijuana may be considered.