Sacramento, CA: California patients who use marijuana medicinally under a doctor’s supervision must be afforded similar state legal protections as those who lawfully possess other legal medications, the state Supreme Court decided unanimously on Friday. The ruling was the first time the California Supreme Court had ever addressed the scope of Proposition 215, the “Medical Use of Marijuana Act,” and rebutted arguments from law enforcement that the 1996 law only offered patients an affirmative defense of medical necessity at trial.
“In light of its language and purpose, [Proposition 215] reasonably must be interpreted to grant a defendant limited immunity from prosecution, which not only allows a defendant to raise his or her status as a qualified patient or primary caregiver as a defense at trial, but also permits a defendant to raise such status by moving to set aside an indictment or information prior to trial on the ground of the absence of reasonable or probable cause to believe that he or she is guilty,” Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote for the court. Under the state law, “the possession and cultivation of marijuana is no more criminal – so long as its conditions are satisfied – than the possession and acquisition of any prescription drug with a physician’s prescription.”
NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup praised the decision, saying that the Court recognized the intent of California voters when they approved Prop. 215. “The Court affirmed the law means what it says: Hands off qualified medicinal marijuana users in California,” Stroup said.
For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup at (202) 483-5500 or NORML Foundation Legal Director Donna Shea at (202) 483-8751.