Appeals Court Tells DOJ: Lay Off Medical Marijuana

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered the DOJ to stop prosecuting medical marijuana cases in which the defendants were acting in accordance with their state’s law. The court has asked DOJ to prove that defendants in 10 pending cases in California and Washington broke state laws before moving on to federal criminal prosecutions. Both California and Washington have legal medical, or recreational, pot, though marijuana is still illegal under federal law.