In a move that could have set an important legal precedent, a federal judge cited Congressional intent to protect a California medical marijuana dispensary from being shut down by the feds.
US District Judge Charles Breyer on Monday barred the Department of Justice from proceeding with legal actions to shutter the state’s first licensed pot dispensary, pointing to a budget amendment passed by Congress at the end of 2014. The policy rider prohibited the DOJ from using funds to crackdown on medical marijuana sellers complying with state law.
“It defies language and logic for the government to argue that it does not prevent California from implementing its medical marijuana laws by shutting down these … heavily regulated medical marijuana dispensaries,” Judge Breyer said in his ruling.
The department had argued that going after a few individual shop owners didn’t substantially interfere with state laws.
If upheld, the ruling would serve as a bulwark to protect dispensaries in states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes. Currently, 23 states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana.
The dispensary at the hear of the case, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana, was forced to cease operations following a federal injunction in 2011.
Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
