U.S. prosecutors dealt setback in medical marijuana cases [View all]
Source: Reuters
The U.S. Department of Justice cannot spend money to prosecute federal marijuana cases if the defendants comply with state guidelines that permit the drug's sale for medical purposes, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday.
The ruling, from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, comes as voters in nine more states will consider allowing the recreational use of marijuana this November.
Twenty-five U.S. states currently allow for medical marijuana. While the sale of the drug is still illegal under federal law, Congress in 2014 passed a budget rule which prohibits the DOJ from using federal funds to interfere in the implementation of state marijuana regulations.
Due to this rule, defendants in 10 cases in California and Washington argued that their federal charges should be dismissed. The 9th Circuit in San Francisco, which covers nine Western states, ruled on Tuesday that the DOJ could not spend money as long as those defendants "strictly complied" with all state regulations.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-ruling-marijuana-idUSKCN10R1YN
U.S. | Tue Aug 16, 2016 1:52pm EDT
By Dan Levine | SAN FRANCISCO
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