People v. Savage

[315]

McCOMB, J.

From a judgment of guilty of violating section 11160

1

of the Health and Safety Code, pertaining to narcotics, after trial before a jury, defendant appeals.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the People (respondent), the essential facts are:

Between eleven and twelve p. m. on June 12, 1943, Los Angeles police officers entered a two-story building located at 169 Bast 35th Street, Los Angeles. There they saw defendant and proceeded to search his clothing. One of the officers ran his hand underneath defendant’s belt and an object slipped from the vicinity of defendant’s right hip and fell to the floor. The officer picked up the object and found it to be a cigarette. Thereafter the officer took defendant to another room in the same house where was found a second cigarette under a bed and a third cigarette beneath a dressing table. Defendant stated to the officer that the first cigarette mentioned above he knew contained marijuana which was given to him by a friend. When asked regarding the other two cigarettes found on the premises, defendant made no reply. At the trial defendant stipulated that the cigarettes contained marijuana.

This is the sole question necessary for us to determine :

Is marijuana synonymous with Indian hemp (cannabis sativa) ?

This question must be answered in the affirmative. Marijuana, (variants: mariahuana, marajuana, maraguana, marihuana, and mariguana) is another name for Indian hemp (cannabis sativa). (See Health and Saf. Code, § 11003; vol. 2, Webster’s New International Dictionary, 2d ed. 1939, page 1503;

State

v.

Navaro,

[83 Utah 6], [26 P.2d 955, 956 et seq.] ;

Fawcett

v.

State,

137 Tex.Cr. 14 [127 S.W.2d 905, 906];