Can a court order that a defendant participate in a substance abuse program if one is available?

At the sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered appellant to participate in a counseling or education program having a substance abuse component "if one is available." Section 1203.096, subdivision (a), specifically provides that a trial court shall "recommend in writing that the defendant participate in a counseling or education program having a substance abuse component while imprisoned." ( 1203.096, subd. (a), italics added.) Case law finds that the appropriate authorities need not heed the recommendation. (People v. Peel (1993) 17 Cal.App.4th 594, 599-600.) Accordingly, it was appropriate for the trial court to recommend such counseling rather than order it. We shall order that the minute order and abstract of judgment be modified to clarify that such participation is recommended, not ordered, by the trial court.

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