Superior Court Judge William Nevitt upheld California’s medicinal marijuana law Tuesday, rejecting San Diego County’s argument that the law conflicted with federal statute and was thus unconstitutional.
Echoing a tentative ruling he issued last month, Nevitt concluded that the state’s Compassionate Use Act, passed by voters as Proposition 215 in 1996, did not conflict with federal laws because it merely “authorizes” the use marijuana but does not “require” it.
Nevitt’s decision was prompted by a lawsuit filed by the county, which was later joined by Merced and San Bernardino counties and Merced Sheriff Mark Pazin, earlier this year, asking the courts to throw out the ballot measure. He also rejected the counties’ argument that a subsequent state law, requiring local governments to issue identification cards to authorized pot users, modified Proposition 215 in violation of the state constitution.
“The rulings herein do not decide whether marijuana has medical benefits, or for whom,” Nevitt wrote in his opinion.
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