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Pen. Code, § 3500 · Chapter 1. Definitions

Pen. Code, § 3500

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)

For purposes of this title:

(a) “Behavioral research” means studies involving, but not limited to, the investigation of human behavior, emotion, adaptation, conditioning, and response in a program designed to test certain hypotheses through the collection of objective data. Behavioral research does not include the accumulation of statistical data in the assessment of the effectiveness of programs to which inmates are routinely assigned, including, but not limited to, education, vocational training, productive work, counseling, recognized therapies, and programs that are not experimental in nature.

(b) “Biomedical research” means research relating to or involving biological, medical, or physical science. Biomedical research does not include the accumulation of statistical data in the assessment of the effectiveness of nonexperimental public health programs or treatment programs in which inmates routinely participate.

(c) “Psychotropic drug” means a drug that has the capability of changing or controlling mental functioning or behavior through direct pharmacological action. These drugs include, but are not limited to, antipsychotic, antianxiety, sedative, antidepressant, and stimulant drugs. Psychotropic drugs also include mind-altering and behavior-altering drugs that, in specified dosages, are used to alleviate certain physical disorders, and drugs that are ordinarily used to alleviate certain physical disorders but may, in specified dosages, have mind-altering or behavior-altering effects.

(d) “Research” means a class of activities designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, including theories, principles, or relationships, or the accumulation of data on which they may be based, that can be corroborated by accepted scientific observation and inferences.

(e) “Research protocol” means a formal document setting forth the explicit objectives of a research project and the procedures of investigation designed to reach those objectives.

(f) “Phase I drug” means a drug that is designated as a phase I drug for testing purposes under the federal Food and Drug Administration criteria in Part 312 of Subchapter D of Chapter I of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Notes and commentary — not statutory text

History

Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 197, Sec. 1. (SB 1238) Effective January 1, 2017.

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=PEN&sectionNum=3500.
Text hash
sha256 aa742f22bb7d1c371c06696d205ac2ce563604c8ee7ffe53c65fa1c0a246f778
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

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.