[REGIONAL NEWS] Colorado Supreme Court to weigh in on how judges decide when people on probation can use medical marijuana

The case involves an El Paso County judge who demanded the defendant bring a doctor to court

The Colorado Supreme Court chambers at the Ralph Carr Judicial Center in Denver, Colorado November 14, 2013. /Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post

By Saja Hindi | The Denver Post

Colorado courts are still trying to figure out the ground rules for people using medical marijuana while on probation, and the state Supreme Court will weigh in when it hears oral arguments Thursday in an El Paso County case where a judge denied a woman’s use of the drug while on probation for DUI.

The woman will ask justices to decide whether a defendant must provide evidence that the marijuana is medically necessary or whether probationers can use it unless a judge decides it’s appropriate for the sentence. The case also questions to what lengths a probationer must go to prove the marijuana is critical to their health.

Attorneys who represent criminal defendants hope the court’s decision will provide more clarity on the issue. Supreme Court decisions take months.

A county court judge prohibited Alysha Walton from using medical marijuana while on probation for a DUI, and a district court judge agreed with the decision.

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