Facts: - Appellant was encountered in Los Angeles. Police observed track marks and heard him admit to occasional use of narcotics.

Issue: Is the CA statute that makes it illegal to be addicted to narcotics unconstitutional?

Rule: One cannot be convicted of a desire to commit a criminal act. A disease is not criminal.

Holding: A state law which imprisons a person thus afflicted as a criminal, even though he has never touched any narcotic drug within the State or been guilty of any irregular behavior there, inflicts a cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Rationale: The State will not prosecute for other diseases so why should they prosecute for an addiction? Prison is cruel and unusual punishment for the crime of having a disease. It sure would be for having a common cold.

Policy/Notes: White dissent: this places the use of narcotics beyond the reach of the States’ criminal laws. There can be conviction for the regular, repeated use of narcotics.