Federal Court Tells DEA to Leave Dispensaries Alone

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Federal Court Tells DEA to Leave Dispensaries Alone

In a hugely important decision, a federal court in California has ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) interpretationcannabisplant of a federal medical cannabis provision which was included in last year’s national spending bill “defies language and logic”. The court stated that the DEA’s recent raids on dispensaries in California “tortures the plain meaning of the statute” and is “at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law.”

Last year a federal spending bill – which was passed into law – included a Rohrabacher-Farr amendment that prohibits the Justice Department from using federal funds to “prevent such States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”

Despite the relatively clear-cut nature of this provision, the DEA – which is a branch of the Justice Department – has refused to properly acknowledge the new law, saying that in their interpretation of the law it doesn’t prevent them from raiding dispensaries.

Now, Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. district court in northern California has ruled that the DEA’s interpretation is completely wrong, and that the amendment does prevent them from raiding dispensaries which are following state law.


Delta Extrax


“This is a big win for medical marijuana patients and their providers,” sais Dan Riffle of the Marijuana Policy Project, “and a significant victory in our efforts to end the federal government’s war on marijuana. Federal raids of legitimate medical marijuana businesses aren’t just stupid and wasteful, but also illegal.”

Neither the Justice Department nor the DEA have responded to a request for comment.

TheJointBlog

3 Comments

  • Dorothy
    October 20, 2015

    It’s about time the dea had a good kick in the ass. They should be more worried about murders and gun control.

  • Scott Rellim
    October 20, 2015

    When you think about it, this really is an absolutely perfect example of how screwed up our nation is at times. There was literally a law put in place to prevent the Justice Department from using federal funds to “prevent such States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.” They actually broke the law, raided dispensaries, and then said they didn’t interpret it that way.

    I swear every day I am in Alice in Wonderland. I don’t know which way is up any more.

  • Rachel
    July 6, 2016

    The problems that medical marijuana users must have because of the controversy surrounding it must have it pretty hard already, but I can’t imagine it makes it any easier when your dispensary gets raided. I’m glad to see that the courts have said something about this. Thanks for sharing this info.

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