On Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Cooper provided some clarity regarding how the State will regulate the sale of edibles that contain extracts from the marijuana plant. The judge found that the “Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does not limit the form in which that medicine can be administered. Nor does it prohibit the use of extracts, such as CBD oil.”
The ruling is important, according to Will Humble, director of Arizona Department of Health Services, because it addresses issues that the Department had been wrestling with for some time. Those issues are the definition of “Marijuana” and “Usable Marijuana” in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and how the definition of “Cannabis” and “Marijuana” in the Criminal Code fit together. “In other words,” writes Humble, “prior to this ruling it had appeared as though registered identification card holders and dispensaries could have been exposed to criminal prosecution under the Criminal Code for possessing a narcotic drug if the card holder or dispensary possesses resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis or an edible containing resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus Cannabis.”
“At least for now,” concludes Humble, “it appears that forms of marijuana that include extracts from the plant are provided the same level of protection (for patients and dispensaries) as the actual dried marijuana plants under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.”
The case came before Judge Cooper when the family of Zander Welton, age 6, launched a battle to provide extracts to the boy for his seizures. The East Valley family sued on October 29, 2013, with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
According to the family’s suit, “The extraction process allows producers to isolate the most medically valuable constituents of the plant and provide them in a form that can be taken in precise doses and has no psychoactive effect.”
Court ruling summary from ADHS:
The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act definition of “Marijuana” in A.R.S. § 36-2801(8) differs from the Arizona Criminal Code’s (“Criminal Code”) definition of “Marijuana” in A.R.S. § 13-3401(19). The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act makes a distinction between “Marijuana” and “Usable Marijuana.” A.R.S. § 36-2801(8) and (15). The definition of “Marijuana” in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act is “… all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant.” The definition of “Usable Marijuana” is “… the dried flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant and does not include the weight of any non-marijuana ingredients combined with marijuana and prepared for consumption as food or drink.” The “allowable amount of marijuana” for a qualifying patient and a designated caregiver includes “two-and-one half ounces of usable marijuana.” A.R.S. § 36-2801(1).
The definition of “Marijuana” in the Criminal Code is “… all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, from which the resin has not been extracted, whether growing or not, and the seeds of such plant.” “Cannabis” (a narcotic drug under the Criminal Code) is defined as: “… the following substances under whatever names they may be designated: (a) The resin extracted from any part of a plant of the genus cannabis, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such plant, its seeds or its resin. Cannabis does not include oil or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any fiber, compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the mature stalks of such plant except the resin extracted from the stalks or any fiber, oil or cake or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination; and (b) Every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of such resin or tetrahydrocannabinol.” A.R.S. § 13-3401(4) and (20)(w).