Medical-marijuana patients who take the drug from one place to another for personal therapeutic use can’t be convicted of transporting narcotics under California law, the state Supreme Court ruled.
In a 6-1 decision, the state high court said California’s medical marijuana law protects patients who transport even relatively large quantities of the drug if they can show that the amount was consistent with their medical needs and recommended by a licensed physician.
The court interpreted a 2004 law passed by the Legislature to address uncertainties that followed voter passage of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The attorney general’s office said the ruling would affect a handful of cases.