By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services | East Valley Tribune
A constitutional right to control your own health care is not a right to grow your own medical marijuana, according to an attorney for the state’s top health official.
Gregory Falls is asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper to throw out claims by two men who say they are constitutionally entitled to plant, grow and harvest the drug.
Falls said the fact that voters allowed those with a doctor’s recommendation to obtain and use the drug does not give them the power to ignore other provisions of the 2010 medical marijuana law. That includes the fact that anyone within 25 miles of a state-regulated dispensary has to obtain their drugs from that source.
The outcome of the legal fight has implications beyond the two me who filed suit.
A decision against state Health Director Will Humble would open the door to all of the state’s nearly 40,000 medical marijuana patients each having the right to grow up to 12 plants of their own. And Humble said that would all occur without state oversight, including the ability to ensure that the drugs are used for the intended purposes.
If you’d like to discuss medical marijuana, contact Ryan Hurley, director of the Rose Law Group Medical Marijuana Dept. rhurley@roselawgroup.com
