A California federal court ruling will reinforce state power over medical marijuana and inhibit the actions of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Instead of addressing medical marijuana matters with states, the DEA overstepped its measures by obstructing individual dispensaries and patients, as expressed by a court decision from Oct. 19.
According to Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer from Northern California, who made the ruling, the DEA’s justification for past actions was based on a poor interpretation of last year’s national Rohrabacher-Farr Medical Marijuana Amendment. Breyer described the DEA’s behavior to Time as “def[ying] language and logic.” Under his ruling, the DEA may not handle dispensaries in line with state law or interfere with any state mandates and procedures on medical marijuana; that power belongs to the states.
