Health & Saf. Code, § 11377 · Article 5. Offenses Involving Controlled Substances Formerly Classified as Restricted Dangerous Drugs
Health & Saf. Code, § 11377
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Except as authorized by law and as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) or Section 11375, or in Article 7 (commencing with Section 4211) of Chapter 9 of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, every person who possesses any controlled substance which is (1) classified in Schedule III, IV, or V, and which is not a narcotic drug, (2) specified in subdivision (d) of Section 11054, except paragraphs (13), (14), (15), and (20) of subdivision (d), (3) specified in paragraph (11) of subdivision (c) of Section 11056, (4) specified in paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054, or (5) specified in subdivision (d), (e), or (f) of Section 11055, unless upon the prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian, licensed to practice in this state, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, except that such person may instead be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code if that person has one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 of the Penal Code or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290 of the Penal Code.
(b) The judge may assess a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) against any person who violates subdivision (a), with the proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section 1463.23 of the Penal Code. The court shall, however, take into consideration the defendant’s ability to pay, and no defendant shall be denied probation because of his or her inability to pay the fine permitted under this subdivision.
(c) It is not unlawful for a person other than the prescription holder to possess a controlled substance described in subdivision (a) if both of the following apply:
(1) The possession of the controlled substance is at the direction or with the express authorization of the prescription holder.
(2) The sole intent of the possessor is to deliver the prescription to the prescription holder for its prescribed use or to discard the substance in a lawful manner.
(d) This section does not permit the use of a controlled substance by a person other than the prescription holder or permit the distribution or sale of a controlled substance that is otherwise inconsistent with the prescription.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended (as amended by Proposition 47) by Stats. 2017, Ch. 269, Sec. 6. (SB 811) Effective January 1, 2018. Note: This section was amended on Nov. 4, 2014, by initiative Prop. 47.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=11377.
- Text hash
- sha256 ed6f7e5d5b40777aab04d325d911d83b08545b2ff445b4f8fef2cd6c850eff09
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Health and Safety Code
Cited by 15 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Health & Saf. Code, § 11377. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Business and Professions Code
Health and Safety Code
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11161Printed as Section 11153, 11154, 11156, 11157, 11170, 11173, 11350, 11351, 11352, 11353, 11353.5, 11377, 11378, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, or 11379.6
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11370.1Printed as Section 11350 or 11377
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11372.5Printed as Section 11350, 11351, 11351.5, 11352, 11355, 11358, 11359, 11361, 11363, 11364, 11368, 11375, 11377, 11378, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, 11379.6, 11380, 11380.5, 11382, 11383, 11390, 11391, or 11550
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11375Printed as Sections 11377, 11378, 11379, and 11380
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11395Printed as Section 11350, 11351, 11351.5, 11352, 11353, 11353.5, 11353.7, 11370.1, 11377, 11378, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, 11379.6, 11380, or 11395
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11591Printed as Section 11377
- Health & Saf. Code, § 11591.5Printed as Section 11377
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 1170.18Printed as Sections 11350, 11357, or 11377 of the Health and Safety Code
- Pen. Code, § 1170.73Printed as Section 11377, 11378, or 11378.5 of the Health and Safety Code
- Pen. Code, § 1170.74Printed as Section 11377, 11378, 11379, or 11379.6 of the Health and Safety Code
- Pen. Code, § 1203.44Printed as Sections 11350, 11364, 11377, and 11550 of the Health and Safety Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.