California Supreme Court To Review Medical Marijuana Cases

[kpete]

California Supreme Court To Review Medical Marijuana Cases
In reviewing the cases, the state Supreme Court will consider whether local governments can ban medical marijuana dispensaries.

By Toni McAllister, David Fonseca, and Ajay Singh Email the authors 10:58 am

PDFS (1)
http://eaglerock.patch.com/articles/california-supreme-court-to-review-medical-marijuana-cases-6852e4f6#pdf-8918800

After much anticipation, the California Supreme Court agreed this week to review how cities and counties regulate medical marijuana.

The High Court issued an order indicating its intent to review two controversial medical marijuana cases, Pack v. City of Long Beach and City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patient's Health and Wellness Center., Inc. As a result of this week's decision, both cases have been vacated in anticipation of the High Court's ruling.

In reviewing the cases, the state Supreme Court will consider whether local governments can ban medical marijuana dispensaries given that the drug is legal under California voter-approved Proposition 215. The court will also review the continued conflict between state and federal law. Under federal law, marijuana is illegal.

The Pack decision held that some dispensary regulations may be preempted by federal law and the Riverside decision held that municipalities can legally ban dispensaries altogether.

more:
http://eaglerock.patch.com/articles/california-supreme-court-to-review-medical-marijuana-cases-6852e4f6

[HopeHoops]

1. They might need some high-quality samples just to "verify the evidence".

[Ecumenist]

2. I hope they rule in favor of the dispensaries! I'm a patient, (RA and Cervical Cancer)

I don't smoke it, I take capsules of the pure THC and Hashish. Before I got sick, I NEVER USED MARIJUANA, and I can tell you that it's been a HUGE part in saving my life.

[Betsy Ross]

3. Glad to hear that you have found some relief with MM. n/t

[mike_c]

4. glad to hear it....

Best wishes for your health!

[Peace Patriot]

5. It's hard to see how they can rule in favor of counties or cities...

...that have created their own "laws" to override the will of the voters of California. That is a state issue and it's pretty clear to me that counties and cities cannot do this.

There is a secondary question about whether counties can regulate marijuana medical dispensaries and probably they can, because there are lots of precedents for counties regulating other businesses in various ways.

There is some thinking in the medical marijuana community that county/city regs (such as limiting the number of plants per grower, banning dispensaries from certain areas and so on) violate the initiative that voters approved. But without such local regulation, I think the dispensaries are more vulnerable to federal jackbootism. In any case, I don't think that counties can legally ban all dispensaries and the CA supreme court, if they look at this objectively, will rule against Long Beach and Riverside.

The federal vs state issue is thornier for the state supreme court. They would have to defy a lot of federal preemption on this issue, to rule that the will of California voters overrides the feds and their goddamn "war on drugs" (one of the biggest war profiteer and prison profiteer boondoggles in history). I expect cowardice by the CA supreme court justices on this matter but maybe we will be surprised.

The thinking in Latin America is at a turning point. Recently, a commission of former presidents of Mexico recommended legalization of marijuana and re-thinking the entire "war on drugs," and even the new rightwing president of Colombia has said that he could support that (a rather jaw-dropping statement of his). I think that most people--north and south/central Americans--would like to see marijuana legalized as the harmless, beneficial herb that it is, to free justice systems from this absurd prohibition and to free tax money for better purposes (not to mention getting more tax money by taxing marijuana). But our political establishment is so in the pocket of the war profiteers that I doubt that the CA supreme court will do the right thing. They are not that independent.