‘High’ court weeds out latest reefer madness

After the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that marijuana extracts fall under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act I heard from a reader who said in part, “Now we know what they mean by ‘high’ court. Whatever these people are smoking I bet from your past comments on this subject that you’re getting stoned on the secondary smoke.”

I’m shocked he didn’t add that I was going to “pot.”

Or that I was a snake in the “grass.” Or that someone should “weed”out my shortcomings.

As it was, however, this is one of those rare and wonderful occasions when there is no need for any plant or chemical based psychoactive stimulus.

Instead, I was high on the court’s … logic.

For too many years Arizona has had to endure the “Reefer Madness” shrieking of marijuana opponents like Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, whose office handled this particular case, and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.

I get it. It can be difficult for people to accept change.

But decades of prohibition and billions of dollars spent on useless incarceration are enough. Hopefully, that ends now.

The Arizona Supreme Court overturned the conviction Rodney Jones, a registered medical marijuana patient who was found in possession of a jar containing 0.005 ounces of hashish in 2013. The Arizona Court of Appeals had said that medical marijuana extracts do not fall under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). Extracts are used in oils, or edibles, as well as in vaping.

The court vacated Jones's conviction and sentence.

On what basis?

Logic. And the dictionary.

In its ruling the court said in part: “AMMA defines ‘marijuana as ‘all parts of (the) plant.’ The word ‘all,’ one of the most comprehensive words in the English language, means exactly that…Taken together, ‘all parts’ refers to all constituent elements of the marijuana plant, and the fact the resin must first be extracted from the plant reflects that it is part of the plant… A plain reading of the relevant provisions compels our conclusion that AMMA protects the use of ‘marijuana,’ including resin, so long as the patient does not exceed the allowable amount and otherwise complies with the statutory requirements…”

Polk issued a statement reading in part: “Today’s ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court gives a green light to an industry constantly seeking to market and sell more potent, and thus more addictive and dangerous, products. Communities across Arizona will suf

fer the consequences of this ruling long into the future…”

Actually, it seems pretty clear that Arizona – and the rest of the country – already suffered massive negative consequences in terms of ruined lives and billions of wasted dollars by criminalizing marijuana, which has proven to be valuable in easing the pain of multiple sclerosis, and lessening tremors in Parkinson’s disease, and helping with childhood epilepsy and other dibilitating conditions.

And the research is ongoing.

For decades supporters of marijuana and its scientific applications were branded as delusional, if not stoned out of their minds, when it turns out the opposition was blowing smoke.