Legal News

Changes in medical marijuana policy get complicated in court

By Richard Binder

In Los Angeles on Monday, a judge postponed the sentencing of a former marijuana dispensary owner and ordered the Department of Justice to put its new position in writing by the end of April, though he said he didn't think it will affect the defendant's conviction.

But new DOJ rules will likely play a more decisive role in a case in San Jose, where the city and county of Santa Cruz teamed up with a local dispensary to sue the U.S. attorney general and other federal officials for allegedly interfering with California's medical marijuana laws.

At a court appearance on Monday, the two sides agreed to pause the case until early May. And according to plaintiffs attorney M. Allen Hopper, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Quinlivan said at the time that "there may well be" a written change of policy handed down by then.

"This would be a sea change," said Hopper, litigation director for the ACLU's Drug Law Reform Project. "I don't think that that's too strong of a characterization."

Full story at The Recorder.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 27, 2009 (boomark / email).