California Supreme Court Invalidates State Limits On Medical Marijuana Possession

The Los Angeles Times reports that in "a unanimous decision filed Thursday, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's specific limits on how much medical marijuana a patient can possess, concluding that restrictions imposed by the Legislature were an unconstitutional amendment of a voter-approved initiative. The decision, which affirmed an appellate decision, means people who have a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana can possess and cultivate as much as is 'reasonably necessary.' The court invalidated a provision of a 2003 state law passed to clarify the initiative. Under that law, patients or their primary caregivers could have no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana and grow no more than six mature or 12 immature plants. The law, however, allowed patients to have more than that if they had a statement from a doctor that the amount was insufficient... The state's 1996 medical marijuana initiative put no limit on the amount of cannabis a patient could possess or cultivate other than to require that it be for 'personal medical purposes.' Seven years later, the Legislature passed a law to create medical marijuana identification cards to help protect patients from arrest and included the limits on possession and cultivation. The justices concluded that the state Constitution bars the Legislature from changing an initiative approved by voters, but also appeared to rue that restraint. Almost a third of the 54-page decision written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George discusses how California's initiative process places unparalleled limits on the Legislature. The decision notes that it 'may well be prudent and advisable' for lawmakers to have the power to set limits." Tweet