BUCKING THE FEDS

California Court Affirms Medical Pot Law

In a case that could have ramifications in Colorado and other states that
have medical marijuana laws on the books, the California Supreme Court has
delivered reasonably clear guidelines that affirm that the people of
California really meant it in 1996 when they passed Prop. 215 and gave
seriously ill people "the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical
purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been
recommended by a physician."

The case revolved around legal principles that might seem obscure but are
important to patients seeking to exercise their rights under the law. Myron
Mower, a patient suffering from "diabetes and all its complications," with
a recommendation for marijuana use from a physician, was arrested for
cultivating 31 marijuana plants. He was convicted, but claimed that the
trial court had erred in its jury instructions and the police had erred in
arresting him. An appeals court upheld the conviction. The California
Supreme Court decision sends the case back for a new trial with new
procedures and instructions.

Mower claimed that the law, whose stated purpose is to ensure that patients
"are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction" gives him "complete"
immunity from arrest. The court ruled that patients don't have complete
immunity, but they do have partial immunity.

The high court also noted that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that
there is no "medical necessity" defense under federal law referred to
federal law only.

This portion of the decision is of interest to Colorado in that it
challenges the supremacy of federal drug laws. We'll have to wait and see
how the feds take the news.