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Calif. court rejects limits on medical marijuana

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A marijuana plant is shown at Oaksterdam University, a trade school for the cannabis industry, in Oakland, California July 23, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

A marijuana plant is shown at Oaksterdam University, a trade school for the cannabis industry, in Oakland, California July 23, 2009.

Credit: Reuters/Robert Galbraith

LOS ANGELES | Fri Jan 22, 2010 2:52pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California Supreme Court on Thursday rejected limits on medical marijuana imposed by state lawmakers, finding that people with prescriptions for pot can have and grow all they need for personal use.

The high court ruled lawmakers improperly "amended" the voter-approved law that decriminalized possession of marijuana for "seriously ill Californians" with a doctor's prescription by limiting patients to eight ounces (227 grams) of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature plants.

The Compassionate Use Act, passed by California voters in 1996, set no limits on how much marijuana patients could possess or grow, stating only that it be for personal use.

In 1997, the state's Supreme Court defined a lawful amount as enough to be "reasonably related to the patient's current medical needs."

The state's quantity limits were passed in 2003 as part of a voluntary identification card program designed to protect against both drug trafficking and wrongful arrest by allowing police to quickly verify a patient's prescription.

The court on Thursday let stand the voluntary card program but found that the limits it imposes should not "burden" a person's ability to argue under the Compassionate Use Act that the marijuana possessed or grown was for personal use.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said in a statement the decision "confirms our position that the state's possession limits are legal" as applied to medical marijuana cardholders.

A lawyer for plaintiff Patrick Kevin Kelly could not be reached immediately for comment.

Kelly, who obtained a prescription for medical marijuana to alleviate a range of medical issues including hepatitis C, back problems and depression, did not register in the card program.

He was arrested in 2005 for growing marijuana plants and possessing 12 ounces of dried marijuana and was found guilty of marijuana cultivation and possession.

The case is People v. Kelly, Case No. S164830, California Supreme Court.
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Comments (6)
Parent wrote:
Let’s develop some sensible guidelines about how much marijuana a person can possess for non-medical purposes. The tax money wasted on arresting, prosecuting, imprisoning, and the forced “treatment” of marijuana users costs the U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars every year, billions that are therefore NOT available for schools, health care, repairing our roads and bridges, and a hundred other vitally important areas. Surely no one believes that imprisoning Americans for using a plant is a better use of our limited resources than educating our children, maintaining our infrastructure, and keeping our families safe from foreign terrorists?

Let’s put the drug dealing criminals out of business and free up our tax dollars to meet America’s real needs. Let’s tax and regulate marijuana, and let’s let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own back yards; maybe $100 a year for a permit to grow a dozen plants. It’s a win-win.

Jan 22, 2010 3:04pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Chuck13 wrote:
I agrree 100%. Just think of it, Economic recovery! As a matter of fact, why not legalize all drugs and put every criminal drug dealer and violence right of business! NO more turf wars, no more border wars, etc… Oh I forgot, godforbid somebody thinks outside of the box and to eliminate violence. Besides, that would put the DEA’s enforcement division right out of business. We need violence and we need illicit drugs to justify the gestapo regime in the U.S.

Jan 22, 2010 3:48pm EST  --  Report as abuse
HilaryLo wrote:
For all our other problems, it’s ridiculous that police spend so much time harassing marijuana users. I think they just hate hippies.

Jan 22, 2010 3:54pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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