By Kaila White | The Arizona Republic
An Arizona State University student is asking an appeals court to overturn the law that makes it illegal for him to have physician-recommended medical marijuana in his dorm room. Andre Maestas, 20, an ASU junior and medical-marijuana cardholder, was arrested in 2014 and charged with a felony for having 0.6 grams of weed, roughly the equivalent of one joint, in his room on campus.
Maestas is the first to challenge a 2012 statute banning medical marijuana on state university campuses, which the Legislature passed two years after Arizona voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana.
“It is unfortunate that our legislature and prosecutors are trying to deny medication to students. This was certainly never part of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act and it is a gross, unconstitutional overreach by the legislature. Ironically if students instead choose to use deadly and addictive opiate pain pills they get no punishment at all or a slap on the wrist. However for choosing a safer, natural alternative students face a felony charge that can end their college career and that will and drastically impact their futures forever.”
~ Ryan Hurley
