(a)Any person who knowingly has in his or her possession in any state prison, prison road camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm or any place where prisoners of the state are located under the custody of prison officials, officers, or employees, or in any county, city and county, or city jail, road camp, farm, or any place or institution, where prisoners or inmates are being held under the custody of any sheriff, chief of police, peace officer, probation officer, or employees, or within the grounds belonging to any jail, road camp, farm, place or institution, any controlled substances, the possession of which is prohibited by Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code, any device,
contrivance, instrument, or paraphernalia intended to be used for unlawfully injecting or consuming controlled substances, without being authorized to so possess the same by the rules of the Department of Corrections, rules of the prison or jail, institution, camp, farm or place, or by the specific authorization of the warden, superintendent, jailer, or other person in charge of the prison, jail, institution, camp, farm or place, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.
(b)The prohibitions and sanctions addressed in this section shall be clearly and prominently posted outside of, and at the entrance to, the grounds of all detention facilities under the jurisdiction of, or operated by, the state or any city, county, or city and county.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
194
cases (
61 in the last 5 years), 1955–2025 · leading case:
People v. Raybon, 492 P.3d 937 (Cal. 2021).
People v. Raybon, 492 P.3d 937 (Cal. 2021).
· cites it 14× “The question we must answer is whether Proposition 64 invalidates cannabis-related convictions under Penal Code section 4573.6, which makes it a felony to possess a controlled substance in a state correctional facility.”
People v. Perry, 244 Cal. Rptr. 3d 281 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2019).
· cites it 5× “( Pen. Code, § 4573.6, subd. (a).) A charge of bringing drugs into a prison ( Pen.”
United States v. Randy Graves, 925 F.3d 1036 (9th Cir. 2019).
· cites it 8× “The defendant argued that the district court erroneously concluded that his prior conviction for inmate drug possession under California Penal Code § 4573.6 (2007) qualified as a “felony drug offense” triggering a mandatory term of life imprisonment under § 841(b)(1)(A).”
People v. Raybon, 248 Cal. Rptr. 3d 611 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2019).
· cites it 2× “" ( Pen. Code, § 4573.6, subd. (a).) The pivotal language, from defendants' perspective, is "the possession of which is prohibited by Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code.”
People v. Yearwood, 213 Cal. App. 4th 161 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).
“(Pen. Code, § 4573.6.) 1 This crime is not a serious felony within the meaning of section 1192.”
People v. Carrasco, 118 Cal. App. 3d 936 (Cal. Ct. App. 1981).
· cites it 2× “) The statute was enacted in 1949. In 1970 it was amended by deleting the word "having" and inserting in its place the words "who knowingly has" as emphasized above.”
People v. Spann, 187 Cal. App. 3d 400 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986).
· cites it 2× “) *405 In 1949, the section with which we are concerned, Penal Code section 4573.6, was enacted to make the “possession” of “narcotics or drugs” in a custodial institution, without the authorization of custodial authorities, a felony.”
People v. Berg, 233 Cal. Rptr. 3d 629 (Cal. Ct. App. 5th 2018).
“( Pen. Code, § 4573.6, subd. (a) ; unspecified statutory references are to this Code.”
Jaime Lazo v. Robert Wilkinson, 989 F.3d 705 (9th Cir. 2021).
· cites it 2× “The statute at issue in Graves was California Penal Code § 4573.6, which at the relevant time prohibited, inter alia, the “knowing possession,” in prison, “of ‘any controlled substances, the possession of which is prohibited by Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the…”
People v. Nelms, 165 Cal. App. 4th 1465 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008).
“The matter is remanded to the trial court with directions to determine whether to exercise its discretion to amend the information to conform to proof and, thereafter, to enter a new conviction on the lesser included offense of possession of a controlled substance in a prison or…”
People v. Frye, 94 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 418 (Cal. Ct. App. 1994).
“(Pen. Code, § 4573.6.) During the taking of his plea, the trial court advised him it would impose a $200 restitution fine.”
— Cal. Penal Code § 4573.6(A) — 1 case
— Cal. Penal Code § 4573.6(a) — 2 cases
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