In a 7-0 emphatic decision, the Supreme Court of Arizona has quashed a ruling by the Court of Appeal to the effect that marijuana concentrates, such as hashish, were not included in the law which legalized medical marijuana in the state.
This case arose after Yavapai County convicted a patient with a valid medical marijuana card issued by the state for possessing hashish. In their ruling delivered on Tuesday (May 28), the justices affirmed that the law legalized all forms of the cannabis plant, including the concentrates made from any segments of the plant that manufacturers deemed fit for processing.
For over a year, the decision of the Court of Appeal had stood and restricted the potentially explosive growth of the cannabis concentrates industry since the court ruling had excluded concentrates from the products envisaged by the 2010 law.
The cannabis extracts sold in medical marijuana dispensaries across the state include soda, candy, vape pens, food and many other products. Records show that the sale of cannabis concentrates is growing at a faster pace when compared to marijuana flower. For example, in the year ending April 2019, sales of cannabis flower grew by 33 percent while sales of concentrates surged by 71 percent in the same period. The 71 percent growth doesn’t include cannabis edibles.
It would therefore have been damaging (and strange) if the highest court has upheld the decision of the lower court. Many jurisdictions where medical marijuana is legal only allow extracts, such as cannabis oil, tinctures, creams, gels and ointments. These include Pennsylvania which only accepted smokable cannabis recently.
It is noteworthy that the dispensaries and manufacturers, such as Item 9 Labs, only paused cannabis concentrate sales briefly after the Court of Appeal ruling and then continued business as usual after their legal teams advised them that there was no legal basis for banning the concentrates.
The legal counsel of those companies has now been vindicated after the Supreme Court pronounced itself on the matter.
Patients have welcomed the latest ruling since the decision ensures that they will continue accessing marijuana concentrates. Many of the patients on the medical marijuana program are either unable or unwilling to smoke medical marijuana. Concentrates also provide a precise way to determine the dosage consumed, an attribute which is vital if the desired therapeutic effects are to be attained.
Lindsey Bartels, a patient who lives in Tempe and has battled chronic pain for years, admitted as much when she said cannabis oil allows her to live a normal life. Youngevity International Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI), Wildflower Brands Inc. (CSE: SUN) (OTCQB: WLDFF) and the entire cannabis industry welcomes the court decision in Arizona which has given patients like Lindsey Bartels hope that they will continue having access to cannabis concentrates which have proved immensely helpful in improving the quality of their lives.
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