Growing Medical Weed Is NOT a Crime, California Appeals Court Rules

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Amid a rash of medical marijuana cultivation bans, patients are cheering one potent legal victory this winter. Growing medical marijuana is not a crime, a California appeals court ruled earlier this month in a precedent-setting case. 

Cities and counties can cite patients in civil court for what amounts to nuisance violations, but the Health and Safety Code of California is clear: Qualified patients growing medical cannabis are not committing crimes.

The December 2 ruling stemmed from a case involving Fresno amputee Diana Kirby, who cultivated and used the herbal analgesic because she is allergic to pain medications. Fresno enacted one the state’s worst bans in 2014, prohibiting nearly all medical cannabis activity as nuisances or misdemeanors.

Kirby’s constitutional challenge went to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, which ruled that Fresno’s bans are valid under zoning powers, but medical pot growing isn’t a crime. It’s more like having a barking dog...

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