Arizona Supreme Court Rules In Hash Case That Medical Cannabis Extracts Are Legal

In a big win for Arizona medical marijuana patients, the state's Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that cannabis extracts are legal, reversing a lower court decision.

What Happened

In 2013, registered medical marijuana patient Rodney Jones was arrested for possesion of 0.05 ounces of hashish, a drug made from cannabis resin. In 2016, Jones was convicted and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison; his subsequent appeals failed until the case reached the Supreme Court, according to Leafly

The Supreme Court ruling said holders of medical cannabis cards are protected from prosecution for possession of cannabis extracts as long as they possess the allowed amount of the drug. Under the state's 2010 medical marijuana law, cannabis extracts such as hash and oil are considered cannabis.  

Why It's Important

The ruling removes a lot of uncertainty for medical marijuana patients in Arizona. It also clears the path for other marijuana products: the Supreme Court was not convinced by the state prosecutors' arugment that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act refers only to flower.

The state Supreme Court vacated Jones' conviction and sentence, according to The Arizona Republic

Related Links:

South Africa Relaxes CBD Regulations: 'A Landmark Piece Of Legislation'

RegTalk: The Challenge Of Assessing And Mitigating Risk In The Cannabis Industry

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
Comments
Loading...
Posted In: CannabisNewsLegalMarketsArizona Supreme Courtmedical marijuana
Benzinga simplifies the market for smarter investing

Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.

Join Now: Free!

Cannabis rescheduling seems to be right around the corner

Want to understand what this means for the future of the industry? Hear directly for top executives, investors and policymakers at the 19th Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, coming to Chicago this Oct. 8-9. Get your tickets now before prices surge by following this link.