Medical Marijuana Laws In Arizona Are Not Yet Certain

An Arizona Senator Removed Some Of The Medical Marijuana Laws

It was just recently, that a senator from Arizona decided to withdraw the bill, which was supposed to make police destroy any medical marijuana that they seized in criminal investigations and this is certainly going to lead to new things for the cannabis industry in the State of Arizona. The decision of withdrawing the medical marijuana laws, is meant to allow those criminal cases to settle down in court and this will reduce the problems of deciding what police officers should do with the marijuana that they seize. 

Senator Kimberly Yee, was forced to withdraw Senate Bill 1441, as some attorneys who are working for the State believed that it could cause some problems due to the fact that there are some federal laws, which need to be followed and as there had already been a case, where a Yuma County Superior Court Judge, decided to return some of the medical marijuana that was seized to a woman, as she was able to prove that it was for medicinal purposes and that she had bought it under the current medical marijuana laws. 

What The Current Medical Marijuana Laws Caused

It was inside Valerie Okun's car, where authorities found some cannabis, while the woman had been stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint during 2011, near the County of Yuma. Valeria was given a citation for not following some of the Arizona cannabis laws and she was also turned over to some officials from Yuma County. 

It was there that Valeria was able to prove that the cannabis that had been taken from her, was for medicinal purposes only and that she had the right to have it, according to California law. The charges where then dropped, as the State of Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act allows people with medical marijuana cards to possess up to two and a half ounces of this herb at any time.

It was then, that Valerie proceeded to ask for her marijuana to be returned by the Sheriff's department and that the Superior Court granted her request. Even if the Superior Court and the Arizona Court of Appeals supported this, the Yuma County Sheriff did not, as they stated that the Federal Controlled Substance Act did not allow them to return the herb to Valerie and that it needed to be destroyed, just as Federal law states. 

According to Kimberly MacEachern, who is a staff attorney for the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys Advisory Council, "marijuana is considered medical, only when in the possession of a licensed dispensary or an authorized medical-marijuana cardholder. But once it comes into the hands of law enforcement, it is no longer medical. The Arizona Medical Act creates a parallel system within the state of Arizona to the federal act, and under federal requirements marijuana is still contraband."

Medical Marijuana Laws Need To Be Well Established Now

Just as seen in this case, there are still many problems with how medical marijuana is being handled in every single one of the 18 States in the US that has authorized this herb for medicinal purposes and it is time to change these medical marijuana laws, in order for patients to fully enjoy the benefits of this medicine and to keep everything under control. 

People who can prove that their marijuana is for medicinal purposes and who are in possession of the herb with a medical marijuana card, should be allowed to get their herb back and they should not have to go through any legal process at all. If they bought their cannabis according to the new medical marijuana laws in some States, they should not be detained or get their herb confiscated, unless they are really doing something wrong and breaking the law in some way. 

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