Court decisions strengthen and clarify California's medical marijuana law
Last update: December 3, 2008
In a recent legal victory for medical marijuana patients, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to hear a case involving the return of marijuana that local police had wrongfully seized from a state-legal medical marijuana patient, Felix Kha.
The marijuana, found during a traffic stop, was confiscated by a Garden Grove police officer. Because of Kha's status as a qualified patient, the Orange County district attorney refused to prosecute the case and a superior court judge ordered the marijuana returned.
The city disagreed with the court order to return the property and took the decision to California's 4th District Court of Appeals, asserting that they were bound to enforce federal drug laws — regardless of the state law allowing Kha to possess the marijuana.
In November 2007, the appeals court unanimously ruled, "It is not the job of local police to enforce federal drug laws ..." and ordered the marijuana returned. Garden Grove requested that the California Supreme Court hear an appeal in the case but was denied. Finally, the city took their case to the United States Supreme Court, which also denied review on December 1, 2008.
The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to not hear this appeal doesn't bode well for San Diego County's request for the court to take up an appeal in its case challenging California's medical marijuana laws on similar grounds of federal supremacy.
In another important legal development, the California Supreme Court issued a ruling clarifying the law relating to the protections afforded to primary caregivers to medical marijuana patients on November 24, 2008. In the case of People v. Mentch, the court ruled, "a defendant whose caregiving consisted principally of supplying marijuana and instructing on its use, and who otherwise only sporadically took some patients to medical appointments, cannot qualify as a primary caregiver under the Act and was not entitled to an instruction on the primary caregiver affirmative defense."
California's medical marijuana ID card program
Visit our FAQ page to learn more about California's medical marijuana ID card program. If your county isn't issuing the state ID cards, contact MPP's California policy director, Aaron Smith to find out how you can help bring this important program to your area.
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