Opening, maintaining, renting, leasing or selling property for unlawful purposes

California not only prosecutes those who use, sell, transport or cultivate marijuana but also prosecutes those who permit such activities on their property. Engaging in the opening, maintaining, renting or leasing of a place used for marijuana-related activities or selling items that will be used to unlawfully manufacture, process or prepare marijuana will be prosecuted as either misdemeanor or felony offenses at the prosecutor’s discretion. An individual who is accused of any of these offenses should therefore immediately contact a skilled California drug crime defense attorney who knows how to persuade a prosecutor that a misdemeanor filing is appropriate and who also knows how to then persuade a judge to further reduce or dismiss that charge.

Every person who opens or maintains any place for the purpose of unlawfully selling, giving away, or using marijuana faces either a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in the county jail or a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. In order to convict an individual of this offense, the prosecutor must prove that he or she opened or maintained a place and, in doing so, had the specific intent to sell, give away or use marijuana on a repetitive or continuous basis. Because this law deals with “using” marijuana, it isn’t necessary that marijuana be sold on the premises, as an individual accused of this offense can be so charged by simply providing a place for marijuana users to gather.

A single or isolated instance of conduct that is prohibited under this law will not suffice for prosecution under this charge, as “maintaining” a place necessarily implies a continuous or ongoing activity that takes place on the property. Similarly, this law does not apply to repeated solo use in one’s own home.

Every person who has under his or her management or control any building, room, space, or enclosure, either as an owner, lessee, agent, employee, or mortgagee, who knowingly rents, leases, or makes available for use, with or without compensation, that property for the purpose of unlawfully manufacturing, storing, or distributing marijuana for sale or distribution faces either a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail or a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. An individual who is convicted of this offense for the second time faces an automatic felony, punishable by two, three or four years in the state prison. In order to convict the accused of this offense, the prosecutor must prove that the owner had knowledge that the manufacturing of the marijuana was for the purpose of selling or distributing it – absent that knowledge, one can’t be convicted of this offense for simply making a property available to manufacture marijuana.

In addition to the jail or prison terms that may accompany these offenses, every building or place used for the purpose of unlawfully selling, serving, storing, keeping, manufacturing, or giving away marijuana will be declared a “nuisance,” and will be subject to forfeiture.

Any retailer or wholesaler who sells marijuana or a laboratory apparatus or device with the knowledge or intent that it will be used to unlawfully manufacture, compound, convert, process, or prepare marijuana for unlawful sale or distribution faces a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail or a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison and a maximum fine of $25,000.

Because the stakes are so high, it is mandatory that an individual accused of one of these offenses hires an attorney who is qualified to defend against these charges. The outstanding criminal attorneys at The Kavinoky Law Firm have mastered everything related to California marijuana defense and know the most compelling arguments to have their clients’ charges either reduced in an effort to provide their clients with the opportunity to receive drug treatment as an alternative sentencing option to jail or prison or dismissed entirely. To learn more, contact these unparalleled attorneys today for a free consultation.