The federal crackdown on medical cannabis in California has
garnered headlines throughout the nation. But over the past fifteen
months, there’s been another, less-publicized crackdown on medical pot
in the state. Many of California’s local district attorneys, working
with the League of California Cities and municipal police departments,
have used a narrow, "make-cancer-patients-grow-pot" and
"no-sales-of-pot" view of state law to declare scores of medical
cannabis clubs unlawful. But on January 16, this secondary crackdown hit
a major legal wall.
The California Supreme Court upheld two appellate court rulings,
saying that patients don’t have to physically grow pot to be members of
collectives and can exchange cash for weed. In short, the high court
rejected the "make-’em-grow-it" argument that had been used by state
prosecutors, cops, and city attorneys. In addition, cases against at
least two Vallejo dispensaries
