--- title: "California Penal Code 4573 PC: Bringing Drugs Into a Jail or Prison" description: "California Penal Code 4573 makes it a felony to bring drugs into a jail or prison, even for someone booked on an unrelated charge. Here's how the law works." url: "https://www.thehfirm.com/penal-codes/pc-4573-bringing-drugs-into-jail-or-prison" site: "H Law Group" --- # California Penal Code 4573 PC: Bringing Drugs Into a Jail or Prison California Penal Code 4573 makes it a felony to bring drugs into a jail or prison, even for someone booked on an unrelated charge. Here's how the law works. Topics: PC 4573, Bringing Drugs Into Jail, California Penal Code, Drug Charges, Criminal Defense, Los Angeles Criminal Defense ## Bringing drugs into a jail is its own felony, separate from whatever got you arrested Here's a scenario that plays out in booking areas across California more often than people expect. Someone gets pulled over for a suspended license, or picked up on a warrant for an unpaid fine, or arrested after a bar fight that never should have escalated. It's a low-level case, the kind a lawyer might resolve with a plea to a lesser charge or even a dismissal. Then, during the pat-down at intake, an officer finds a small baggie in a pocket, a couple of pills in a coin purse, or a joint tucked into a sock. That person now faces a second, far more serious charge under Penal Code 4573, on top of whatever they were originally arrested for. PC 4573 punishes bringing a controlled substance, or an item meant for using one, into a jail, prison, or similar facility. It doesn't matter whether the person meant to smuggle anything to anyone else. It doesn't matter if the drugs were for personal use and the person simply forgot they were carrying them when the handcuffs went on. The moment those drugs cross into a facility where people are held in custody, the person carrying them has committed a new felony, independent of the original arrest. That surprises a lot of people, including some who've been through the system before. A misdemeanor DUI or a minor drug possession charge can turn into a felony case with a mandatory state prison term attached, purely because of what happened during booking rather than anything connected to the original offense. This isn't a rare or theoretical scenario. The California Supreme Court addressed it directly in a case that's now the standard authority on the subject, discussed below. ## What PC 4573 actually covers [Penal Code 4573](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=4573) targets the act of bringing or sending a controlled substance, or certain drug-related items, into a custodial facility. The statute reaches state prisons, county and city jails, prison camps, road camps, and similar places where people are held in custody. It applies to a person who personally carries the item in, and to someone who knowingly assists another person in bringing it in or sending it in, which can pull in people who never set foot inside the facility themselves. Based on the current jury instructions courts use for this charge, a prosecutor has to prove four things beyond a reasonable doubt. - The person brought, sent, or knowingly helped bring or send an item into a listed facility. - The item was a controlled substance regulated under Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, or a device or instrument meant for unlawfully injecting or consuming one. - The person knew they were bringing or sending the item into the facility. - The amount was a usable quantity, not unusable residue or trace amounts. Knowledge matters twice here. The prosecution has to show the person knew they were carrying something into the jail, and that they knew, or should reasonably have known, what the substance was. A person who has genuinely no idea drugs are in a bag someone else packed for them has a real argument that this element is missing. Someone who knew exactly what was in their pocket when the officer walked them through intake does not. The statute does carve out an exception: it doesn't apply when the person is authorized by law, or by the person in charge of the facility, to bring the item in. That covers things like medical staff transporting prescribed medication under facility protocol. It does not cover an inmate's own claim that a small amount was just for personal use. ## Penalties for a PC 4573 conviction PC 4573 is a straight felony. California law doesn't treat it as a wobbler that a prosecutor or judge can charge or resolve as a misdemeanor. - Two, three, or four years in county jail or state prison under California's felony sentencing structure. - A court may also impose a fine, since California law allows fines up to $10,000 for felonies where the statute defining the crime doesn't set its own fine amount. - [Formal felony probation](/blog/felony-probation-in-california) is sometimes available in place of a custody sentence, depending on the amount involved, the person's record, and the specific facts, though it is granted at the court's discretion rather than as a right. - A conviction adds a separate felony to a person's record, on top of whatever the original arrest resolves to, and can affect probation or parole status if the person was already under supervision. Because this charge attaches on top of an existing case, sentencing for PC 4573 is often argued alongside, and sometimes consecutive to, whatever sentence results from the underlying arrest. ## How PC 4573 differs from the related sections People mix these statutes up constantly, including some who've had the misfortune of being charged under more than one. The California Penal Code doesn't lump having drugs in jail into a single offense. It splits the conduct into separate statutes depending on what the person actually did. ### PC 4573 vs. PC 4573.6 The clearest and most commonly confused distinction is between PC 4573 and [Penal Code 4573.6](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=4573.6). Both statutes cover the same categories of items, a controlled substance under Division 10 of the Health and Safety Code, or paraphernalia meant for injecting or consuming one, and both carry the same felony range of two, three, or four years. The difference is the conduct, not the substance. PC 4573 punishes bringing or sending the item into the facility from outside. PC 4573.6 punishes knowingly possessing that same kind of item once already inside the facility, regardless of how it got there. In practice, this means an inmate who is found with drugs weeks into their incarceration, with no evidence of how the drugs entered the facility, is more likely to face a 4573.6 possession charge. Someone caught at the point of entry, whether during booking, at a visitation search, or trying to pass something through a fence, is more likely to face 4573 for the act of bringing it in. ### PC 4573.8 and PC 4573.9 PC 4573.8 covers knowing possession, inside a facility, of drugs in any form, of paraphernalia for injecting or consuming drugs, or of alcoholic beverages, without authorization. It's broader on the substance side than 4573.6, since it isn't limited to Division 10 controlled substances, but it applies to someone already inside rather than someone bringing an item in from outside. PC 4573.9 targets a different actor entirely: someone who is not in custody who sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away a controlled substance to a person who is in custody, or who offers to do so. This is the statute aimed at the supplier relationship rather than simple possession or transport, and it carries a steeper penalty of two, four, or six years, reflecting that added culpability. If any of this sounds like it overlaps with a specific set of facts, that overlap is exactly why these charges get argued and sometimes reduced or combined during a case. Which statute actually fits depends on precise details: who had the item, where, and at what point in the custody process. ## Common defenses to a PC 4573 charge A PC 4573 charge is not automatically a losing hand, even when the drugs were physically found on the person. Several defenses come up regularly in these cases. Lack of knowledge that the substance was present. Someone wearing a jacket they borrowed, carrying a bag someone else packed, or genuinely unaware of an item left in a pocket has a real argument that the knowledge element fails, since the prosecution has to prove awareness beyond a reasonable doubt. No knowledge of the item's nature as a controlled substance. Even if someone knew they were carrying something, if they reasonably believed it was a legal supplement, an over-the-counter medication, or something else entirely, that can undercut this element. Unlawful search or seizure. If the search that turned up the drugs violated the person's constitutional rights, whether at the point of arrest, during transport, or at intake, a motion to suppress the evidence can gut the prosecution's case regardless of what was found. Amount too small to qualify as usable. Trace residue or an unusable quantity doesn't meet the statute's requirement, which can matter in cases involving a nearly empty container or paraphernalia with only residue inside. Authorization. Facility staff or others acting within the scope of a specific authorization from the person in charge of the institution have a defense built directly into the statute. Entrapment or coercion in visitor cases. Someone pressured, threatened, or manipulated into carrying something into a facility for a visit, particularly by someone already incarcerated there, may have a defense depending on how that pressure was applied and documented. The strongest defenses in most PC 4573 cases turn on the knowledge element, since so many of these charges arise from booking searches where the person's story is that they simply forgot what was in their pocket when they were arrested for something unrelated. ## Related charges A PC 4573 charge rarely stands alone. It's common to see it filed together with the original offense that led to the arrest, whether that's a DUI, a theft charge, an outstanding warrant, or something else entirely; simple possession under Health and Safety Code 11350 or 11377, depending on the substance, since the same drugs that triggered the 4573 charge are usually the basis for a separate possession count tied to the original arrest; PC 4573.5, which covers bringing in contraband other than controlled substances, such as alcohol or unauthorized medication, into the same kinds of facilities; and PC 4573.6, 4573.8, or 4573.9, when the facts point to possession inside the facility or furnishing drugs to someone in custody rather than bringing the item in from outside. Because these charges often stack, a case that started as a minor arrest can end up carrying far more exposure than the original offense ever did. ## Frequently asked questions ### What happens if I have drugs on me when I get arrested for something else? If the drugs are discovered during booking, you can be charged under PC 4573 for bringing them into the jail, in addition to whatever charge triggered the arrest and any separate possession charge for the drugs themselves. The California Supreme Court confirmed in People v. Gastello (2010) 49 Cal.4th 395 that this statute applies even when the person never intended to bring drugs into a jail and was arrested for a completely unrelated matter. Voluntarily walking into the booking area with drugs still in your possession is enough. ### Can a visitor be charged for bringing drugs to someone in jail? Yes. PC 4573 applies to anyone who brings a controlled substance into a facility, and it isn't limited to inmates or arrestees. A visitor caught with drugs during a facility search, or caught trying to pass something to an inmate, can be charged under this statute or under PC 4573.9 if the facts show they were furnishing the substance to a person in custody. ### Is PC 4573 a felony or a misdemeanor? It's a straight felony. Unlike some California drug offenses, it isn't a wobbler that can be charged or reduced to a misdemeanor. A conviction carries a sentence of two, three, or four years. ### What's the difference between being charged under PC 4573 and PC 4573.6? PC 4573 covers bringing the item into the facility from outside. PC 4573.6 covers possessing that same kind of item once already inside, without regard to how it got there. Both are felonies with the same sentencing range, but which one applies depends on the specific conduct and when the drugs were discovered. ### Does it matter if the drugs were only for personal use? No. The statute doesn't require an intent to distribute or share the drugs with anyone else. Bringing a personal-use amount into a facility satisfies the statute just as much as bringing in a larger quantity meant for someone else. The defenses that matter here are usually about knowledge, not intended use. ## If you're facing a PC 4573 charge A PC 4573 charge often catches people off guard precisely because it has nothing to do with why they were arrested in the first place. If you or someone you know is facing this charge, the specific facts, what was found, where, and what was said during the search, matter enormously to how the case can be handled. Talking to a criminal defense attorney before saying anything further to investigators or entering a plea is the way to understand what the actual options look like. --- ## Contact H Law Group - Phone: (888) 499-4948 (phones answered 24/7) - Email: info@thehlawgroup.com - Free consultation: https://www.thehfirm.com/free-consultation - Contact form: https://www.thehfirm.com/contact-us ### Offices - Los Angeles Branch: 714 W Olympic Blvd Ste, 803, Los Angeles, CA 90015 -- (213) 985-4431 - San Diego Branch: 600 W Broadway, Suite 700, San Diego, CA 92101 -- (619) 716-0968 - San Jose Branch: 333 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95110 -- (408) 869-6572 - Orange County Branch: 2030 Main St, # 1300, Irvine, CA 92614 -- (949) 832-8057 - Riverside County Office: 41593 Winchester Rd, Suite 200, Temecula, CA 92590 -- (951) 418-3576 - Santa Barbara Branch: 1117 State St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 -- (888) 499-4948 ### Disclaimer This website provides general legal information only and does not create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice about your specific situation, contact H Law Group directly.