Californians seeking to use cannabis as their medicine need to get a recommendation from a doctor in order to enjoy legal protection. They don't, however, have to actually grow the plants, a court ruled.
The California Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge from Attorney General Kamala Harris in the case of a Hollywood medical marijuana dispensary operator, according to SF Weekly.
Harris was appealing the dismissal of charges against a Hollywood-based dispensary operator, on the grounds that his customer base was "too big" for everyone to participate collectively in its operation, and therefore he didn't enjoy legal protection under state medical marijuana law.
The dispensary operator, William Colvin, was denied a medical marijuana defense when he was arrested for transporting a pound of marijuana between two dispensaries, the newspaper reported. On appeal, his conviction was thrown out, but Harris sought to press the charges further.
The Court of Appeals ruled that Harris's argument -- that in order to be a legal collective, everyone must "come together in some way," be it growing the plants or working the desk, rather than just buying pot and leaving -- was too vague and threw it out.
The Supreme Court declined to hear Harris's appeal of that ruling, meaning it's game over -- but game on for medical marijuana patients who aren't interested in the farming side of things.
Court: Medical Marijuana Users Don't Need to be Growers
A court ruling affirms that medical marijuana users don't need to grow the plants.
Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
