---
type: "Bill"
title: "Controlled substances: permissive lawful possession."
description: "Existing law, subject to certain exceptions, provides that it is a crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment in a county jail, as specified, for any person to possess specified controlled substances, unless upon the written prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian licensed to practice in this state."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20132014"
identifier: "AB 2603"
citation: "California AB 2603 (20132014)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Controlled substances: permissive lawful possession."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["V. Manuel Pérez"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 20
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2014-02-21"
last_action: "2014-09-25"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b423c75c-c02a-48ac-a283-c6b1227dcb4a"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603"
source_hash: "76f5d86b74ae01c5e407f3f808c0336b016903d92cec60bb66844f7b071321c9"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California AB 2603 (20132014) — Controlled substances: permissive lawful possession.

Existing law, subject to certain exceptions, provides that it is a crime punishable by a fine or imprisonment in a county jail, as specified, for any person to possess specified controlled substances, unless upon the written prescription of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or veterinarian licensed to practice in this state.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/21/14 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260399INT)
2. **05/23/14 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260398AMD)
3. **07/01/14 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260397AMD)
4. **08/07/14 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260396AMD)
5. **09/25/14 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260394CHP)
6. **AB2603** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603)
7. **08/20/14 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2603&version=20130AB260395ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass. — **7–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB2603 V. Manuel Pérez By Hueso — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended. — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- AB 2603 PÉREZ, V.M. Concurrence in Senate Amendments — **78–0** (pass) · lower
- AB 2603 PÉREZ, V.M. Assembly Third Reading — **79–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- V. Manuel Pérez — primary (person)
- Chesbro — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2014-02-21** Introduced. To print. `introduction`
- **2014-02-23** From printer. May be heard in committee March 25.
- **2014-02-24** Read first time. `reading-1`
- **2014-03-13** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2014-04-08** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 8). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2014-04-09** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2014-05-23** Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 5088.) `reading-3, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2014-05-28** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 5221.) `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2014-05-28** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2014-06-11** Referred to Com. on PUB. S. `referral-committee`
- **2014-06-30** From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 24). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, amendment-passage`
- **2014-07-01** Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2014-08-07** Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading. `reading-3, reading-1, amendment-passage`
- **2014-08-11** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2014-08-14** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 35. Noes 0. Page 4499.). `reading-3, reading-1, passage`
- **2014-08-14** In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 16 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
- **2014-08-18** Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6114.). `committee-passage-favorable, amendment-passage`
- **2014-08-29** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.
- **2014-09-25** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2014-09-25** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 540, Statutes of 2014.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b423c75c-c02a-48ac-a283-c6b1227dcb4a`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).