Big victory in Butte County
July 3rd, 2009 | by Don Duncan |Americans for Safe Access (ASA) won another important victory for medical cannabis patients this week! In County of Butte v. Superior Court (download decision), the Third District Court of Appeal upheld patients’ right to collective cultivation. The ruling puts California cities and counties on notice that they may face civil litigation for abridging patients’ rights. It also upholds the District Court finding that not every member of a collective garden must physically participate in growing the medicine.
County of Butte v. Superior Court “upholds Butte County Superior Court Judge Barbara Roberts’ ruling from September 2007, in which she states that seriously ill patients cultivating collectively ’should not be required to risk criminal penalties and the stress and expense of a criminal trial in order to assert their rights.’ Judge Roberts’ ruling also rejected Butte County’s policy of requiring all members to physically participate in the cultivation, thereby allowing collective members to ‘contribute financially’.” (quoted from ASA) This has positive implications for defendants and regulations statewide!
Read more about the Butte County decision on the ASA web site.
Tags: Americans for Safe Access, Butte County, collectives, medical cannabis
