Maricopa County Prosecutor Drops Challenge to Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act as Violation of Federal Law, Ceding Victory to ACLU

PHOENIX –Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery has decided not to challenge the most recent ruling upholding Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act, as the deadline of December 11 to seek review by the United States Supreme Court has passed. In 2016, the Arizona Court of Appeals found in favor of a Sun City medical marijuana dispensary, ruling that federal law prohibiting marijuana does not void Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act and that the county and state should therefore allow the dispensary to continue operating. The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Arizona represented the White Mountain Health Center on this issue of federal preemption.

Emma Andersson, the ACLU’s lead attorney on White Mountain Medical Center v. Maricopa County and staff attorney with the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, had this response:

“From the beginning, Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery was clear about his intentions with this case—he wanted to shut down medical marijuana in Arizona and throughout the country. He spent five years in litigation, trying to use federal law as a cudgel against the will of voters in his own state and across the country. His effort failed.

“As he waged his futile battle in the drug war, White Mountain and Arizona’s other dispensaries continued their good work, providing crucial medicine to people with debilitating conditions. That is what Arizonans wanted when they voted for medical marijuana access in 2010. Today, finally, medical marijuana is safe in Arizona.”

For the 2016 Arizona Court of Appeals ruling and other information about White Mountain Medical Center v. Maricopa County: https://www.aclu.org/cases/white-mountain-health-center-v-maricopa-county

For more information about the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project: https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform

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