Legal News

Cal Supreme say no limit on med marijuana possession

By Richard Binder

The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that state lawmakers were wrong to change provisions in Proposition 215, passed in 1996 and allowing patients with a doctor's recommendation to possess an unspecified amount of marijuana.

In order to give law enforcement officials guidelines on appropriate marijuana-related arrests, the Legislature mandated in 2003 that each patient could have a maximum of 8 ounces of dried marijuana. But the high court said only voters can change amendments added to the state's constitution through the initiative process.

This decision upholds a lower court ruling that tossed out the conviction of Patrick Kelly, a Southern California man who was arrested for possession of 12 ounces of dried marijuana and seven plants. But what the decision apparently leaves open to interpretation is the amount of marijuana deemed legitimate for personal medical consumption and how much would constitute illegal trafficking.

Full story at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on January 21, 2010 (boomark / email).