Federal Appeals Court Ruling Could Upend Medical-Marijuana Related Prosecutions
State and federal legislative contradictions on medical marijuana have led to charges against people who say they were in compliance with the law. And now a federal appeals court is set to weigh in on the matter.
The Associated Press:
Looming Marijuana Ruling Could Limit Federal Prosecutions
Rolland Gregg and his family have fought federal marijuana charges for more than three years, arguing that the roughly 70 marijuana plants investigators found on their Washington property were for their own medicinal use and fully complied with state law. A federal jury last year convicted Gregg, his mother and his then-wife of growing 50 to 100 marijuana plants -- amounts their attorney said are in compliance with state medical marijuana law. With prison sentences looming, they have now turned to a recent act of Congress that they say should have stopped the U.S. Department of Justice from prosecuting them because they were doing what their state allowed. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, and the DOJ disagrees with Gregg's understanding of the new law. (Thanawala, 5/9)