California's Supreme Court strikes down legislative limits on medical marijuana
January 23, 2010
SACRAMENTO, California: On January 21, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the case of People v. Kelly that a 2003 law passed by the California State Legislature that set some limits on how much medical marijuana patients could grow or possess is invalid because it amounted to illicit legislative alteration of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
Under the ruling, the state government is no longer allowed to impose any legal limits on the amount of marijuana that medical marijuana users can grow or possess.[1]
The 2003 law limited medical marijuana users to 8 ounces of dried marijuana and six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants.[2]
Chief Justice Ronald George, who wrote the unanimous opinion, is known to be an opponent of California's initiative laws, which he says have "rendered our state government dysfunctional.'[3]
See also
- Laws governing the initiative process in California
- Marijuana dispensaries in California
- Legislative alteration
- California Proposition 215 (1996)
Footnotes
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Court removes state limit on medical marijuana possession," January 22, 2010
- ↑ Times-Standard, "State court ruling shoots down medical marijuana restrictions," January 22, 2010
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "California chief justice criticizes initiative process," October 11, 2009 (dead link)
| |||||
