Arguments came down to how ‘usable’ marijuana is defined
By Dillon Rosenblatt
BridgeTower Media Newswires
PHOENIX - Marijuana extracts and resin are legal to possess and use under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Tuesday, reversing a lower court's decision.
The case, State of Arizona v. Rodney Christopher Jones, stems from a 2013 arrest in which Rodney Jones, a cardholder, possessed a thimble-sized amount of hashish. Jones, 27, served 30 months in jail. The ruling voids Jones' conviction and sentence and means people who hold medical marijuana cards can legally use marijuana-laced products such as gummy bears, tinctures, extracts, candies and resins of the plant.
"We hold that the definition of marijuana in [statute] includes resin, and by extension hashish, and that immunizes the use of such marijuana consistent with AMMA," wrote Vice Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, who authored the opinion on behalf of the court.
The oral arguments held on March 19 came down to what "usable" marijuana is defined as. The court ruled that it declines to adopt an interpretation of marijuana that presents contradictory definitions, and allows dispensaries to sell all parts of the plant.
The ruling also states that edibles, extracts, vape pens and other forms of concentrates will be covered under AMMA, but only within the legal limit of 2.5 ounces.
Last year, the Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that extracts were not covered by AMMA, saying the law voters passed in 2010 was only covered for the marijuana flower.
As the case made its way to the Supreme Court, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich pulled out of representing the state, thus putting it in the hands of Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, a staunch opponent of marijuana.
Ryan Anderson, spokesperson for Brnovich, said at the time, "The last thing Mark Brnovich wants to do is stand in the way of patients getting legitimate medicine."
The Yavapai County Attorney's Office stumbled in its oral arguments in March resulting in an immediate halt on prosecuting patients for possession of extracts in Yavapai County.
Bill Hughes, the chief criminal deputy in the Yavapai County Attorney's Office told Capitol Times in a March 26 email the office would hold off on filing charges in cannabis cases with a few exceptions until the Supreme Court rules.
Several other county attorneys either already halted prosecution or claimed they would wait for the court's decision, including Maricopa, Pinal and Navajo counties.
Published: Thu, May 30, 2019
