Monday, March 31, 2014

Medical Pot and Collective Gardens ruled illegal in Washington State Court of Appeals.

Sometimes, people don't know when to keep their mouth's shut.

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Today, Division 1 of the Court of Appeals issued a decision in the Cannabis Action Coalition, Arthur West v. City of Kent case, which may trigger some media attention.  That’s why I am forwarding this information.

The City of Kent banned medical marijuana collective gardens/dispensaries.  The Cannabis Action Coalition (Arthur West, Steve Sarich, John Worthington, & Deryck Tsang – Mr. Tsang owned a collective garden in Kent) sued the City of Kent, alleging that it could not ban collective gardens.  The Court of Appeals decided that the City of Kent (and any other municipality) may ban collective gardens/dispensaries and went further in its decision.

The Court said that medical marijuana and collective gardens are not legal in the state of Washington. The Court said that the section which made the possession and use of marijuana by medical marijuana patients legal was voided when the Governor vetoed the section in ESSSB 5073 establishing a voluntary registry at DOH for medical marijuana patients. Therefore, medical marijuana patients and collective gardens only have the ability to prove an affirmative defense if charged criminally for possessing marijuana.  They do not have the protection from arrest and prosecution, because the section legalizing marijuana was conditioned on voluntary registration with the DOH registry.

Here is the link to the Court of Appeals decision:  http://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/703960.pdf

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