San Francisco, CA: The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Thursday that the state’s medical marijuana possession and cultivation guidelines, enacted by the legislature in 2004, do not supersede the broader patient protections provided by California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
In a 53-page decision (The People v Patrick K. Kelly), the Court found that patients who possess quantities of medical cannabis above those recommended under the state’s 2004 law (six mature or twelve immature plants and/or eight ounces) may still be afforded legal protections if this amount is “related to meet (the patient’s) current medical needs.”
The Court determined: “Whether or not a person entitled to register under the [2004 state law] elects to do so, that individual, so long as he or she meets the definition of a patient or primary caregiver under the CUA (Compassionate Use Act of 1996), retains all the rights afforded by the CUA. Thus, such a person may assert, as a defense in court, that he or she possessed or cultivated an amount of marijuana reasonably related to meet his or her current medical needs … without reference to the specific quantitative limitations specified by the [2004 state law.]”
NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano praised the court’s decision. “This ruling upholds the will of California’s voters,” he said. “In short, this decision affirms that California patients have a legal right to possess and use marijuana as a medicine in the way that is in best accordance with their therapeutic treatment, as decided by the court, consulting all of the evidence – not by state or local legislators.”
For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, Esq., NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500, or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.