Policy Text
TRAINING BULLETIN
Evaluation Coordinator: Commander
Automatic Revision Cycle: Years
partment Training Bulletins shall be used to advise members of current police techniques and
procedures and shall constitute official policy.” Index Number: II-D
Alpha Index: Disposition of
Confiscated Bulk Marijuana Date of Issue / Revision
28 Feb 03
“De
Disposition of Confiscated Bulk Marijuana
Introduction
1n order to make best use of its limited storage space for narcotics evidence, the Department stores
and disposes of confiscated bulk marijuana in accordance with Section 11479 of the California
Health and Safety Code.
Section 11479 of the California Health & Safety Code allows the Department to destroy any amount of seized marijuana in excess of ten pounds gross weight in accordance with the steps
outlined in this Training Bulletin.
2
Disposition of Confiscated Bulk Marijuana, Index Number II-D
Procedure for Disposition of Confiscated Bulk Marijuana
1. The officer discovering the bulk marijuana reque sts an Evidence Technician to the scene to
take photographic evidence.
If an Evidence Technician cannot respond in a reasonable time, any officer or employee may
take photographs of the marijuana under the direction of the requesting officer.
To assist with security, at le ast one armed officer remains at the scene with the photographer
throughout the process.
2. The Evidence Technician takes photographic documentation to depict the total amount of
marijuana seized and all criti cal aspects of the seizure.
If the bulk marijuana is found in a vehicle, for example, the Evidence Technician takes
pictures of the vehicle, the location of the bulk marijuana in the vehicle, and the amount of
bulk marijuana seized.
The Evidence Technician forwards copies of the photographs to the Criminalistics Division
under the RD number.
3. The officer discovering the bulk marijuana supervises its transport to the Criminalistics
Division.
4. The Criminalistics Division determines the gros s weight of the seized marijuana by weighing
the material or by estimating the weight after taking dimensional measurements.
5. The Criminalistics Division retains one ten-pound sample-which may include stalks,
branches, or leaves-and five additional represen tative samples consisting of leaves or buds for
evidentiary purposes from the total amount of marijuana seized.
6. The Criminalistics Division cont acts the Vice and Narcotics Section to initiate destruction of
all seized marijuana excluding the one ten-pound sample and the five additional repre-
sentative samples.
7. Within thirty days subsequent to the destruction of the marijuana, the Criminalistics Division
files an affidavit in the court which has juri sdiction over any pending criminal proceedings
pertaining to the seized marijuana, detailing the completion of steps 2, 4, 5, and 6 above;
identifying the difficulty of transporting and st oring the entire quantity of marijuana seized;
and specifying the date and time of the destruction of any bulk marijuana.
In the event there are no crim inal proceedings pending which pertain to the marijuana, the
affidavit may be filed in any court within the county which might have jurisdiction over a person against whom those criminal charges might be filed.