Appeals Court Victory For Medical Marijuana Law
DETROIT (WWJ) - The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that cities cannot ban medical marijuana.
Although attorneys representing the city of Wyoming, Michigan, argued that the state law opposes federal bans on the use of the drug, the appeals panel ruled that the federal law does not trump the state law.
Tim Beck, an advocate behind the ballot proposal leading to Michigan's medical marijuana law, said he's not shocked by the decision.
"I can't say that it's actually a surprise," Beck said. "Rogue cities in California … tried this in the past, to use federal law to deny the legitimate rights of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers. They took that all the way to the United States Supreme Court and lost."
Wednesday's ruling came from the case of a Wyoming medical marijuana patient who challenged the city's laws banning it.
Beck said Wyoming should have to follow Michigan's laws, just like every other city in the state.
"They're not Monaco," Beck said. "They're creatures of the state and they have to follow state law absolutely. We did expect to win on this, and it did come true in a unanimous decision."
