Section 2350 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

a controlled substance. Useless traces [or debris] are not usable amounts.
On the other hand, a usable amount does not have to be enough, in
either amount or strength, to affect the user.]
[Cannabis means all or part of the Cannabis sativa L. plant, whether
growing or not, including the seeds and resin extracted from any part of
the plant. [It also includes every compound, manufacture, salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin.]]
<If applicable, give the definition of industrial hemp: Health & Saf. Code,
§ 11018.5>
[Cannabis does not include industrial hemp. Industrial hemp means a
fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that only contain types of the plant
Cannabis sativa L. with no more than three-tenths of 1 percent
tetrahydrocannabinol from the dried flowering tops, whether growing or
not. Industrial hemp may include the seeds of the plant; the resin
extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture,
salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin
produced from the seeds.]
[The People do not need to prove that the defendant knew which specific
controlled substance (he/she) (sold/furnished/administered/imported).]
[A person does not have to actually hold or touch something to (sell/
furnish/administer/import) it. It is enough if the person has (control over
it/ [or] the right to control it), either personally or through another
person.]
New January 2006; Revised December 2008, October 2010, August 2014, February
2015, September 2018
BENCH NOTES
Instructional Duty
The court has a sua sponte duty to give this instruction defining the elements of the
crime.
Sale of a controlled substance does not require a usable amount. (See People v.
Peregrina-Larios (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1524 [28 Cal.Rptr.2d 316].) When
the prosecution alleges sales, do not give element 5 or the bracketed definition of
“usable amount.” There is no case law on whether furnishing, administering, or
importing require usable quantities. (See People v. Emmal (1998) 68 Cal.App.4th
1313, 1316 [80 Cal.Rptr.2d 907] [transportation requires usable quantity]; People v.
Ormiston (2003) 105 Cal.App.4th 676, 682 [129 Cal.Rptr.2d 567] [same].) Element
5 and the definition of usable amount are provided for the court to use at its
discretion.
CALCRIM No. 2350
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
272

Murphy (2007) 154 Cal.App.4th 979, 983–984 [64 Cal.Rptr.3d 926]; People v.
Peregrina-Larios (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1524 [28 Cal.Rptr.2d 316] [lesser
related offense but not necessarily included].)
•
Possession for Sale Is Not a Lesser Included Offense of This Crime. (People v.
Peregrina-Larios (1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1524 [28 Cal.Rptr.2d 316] [lesser
related offense but not necessarily included].)
SECONDARY SOURCES
7 Witkin & Epstein, California Criminal Law (4th ed. 2012) Crimes Against Public
Peace and Welfare, § 115.
6 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 145,
Narcotics and Alcohol Offenses, § 145.