Favorable CA Appellate Decision for Collectives and Cooperatives

The recent CA appellate court decision in People v. Urziceanu marks the rare
occasion when CA courts eke out further protection for patient
collectives/cooperatives as well as dispensing collectives/cooperatives.

Please find below ASA's analysis of the decision, written by ASA Chief Counsel
Joe Elford.

Kris
____________________________

Subject: People v. Urziceanu
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005
From: joseph elford <joeelford at yahoo.com>

On September 12, 2005, the Third District Court
of Appeal issued a positive decision affirming the
legality of collectives and cooperatives. In People
v. Urziceanu, the Court of Appeal held that the
Medical Marijuana Program Act, which is what it called
SB 420, provides for a defense to marijuana
distribution for collectives and cooperatives.

The court initially held that the Compassionate
Use Act (Proposition 215) did not authorize anyone,
except for primary caregivers, to distribute medical
marijuana to others. It, then, cited cases, including
People v. Trippett, People ex rel. Lungren v. Peron,
People v. Young, and others, to hold that the
defendants, who served numerous members, did not
qualify as the primary caregivers of these other
patients as a matter of law. This left the defendants
without a defense to the charge of selling marijuana,
or conspiring to sell marijuana, for operating a
cooperative.

Good news, however, came in a later portion of
the opinion when the court held that the Medical
Marijuana Program Act (SB 420) "represents a dramatic
change in the prohibitions on the use, distribution,
and cultivation of marijuana for persons who are
qualified patients or primary caregivers." Drawing
from the Compassionate Use Act's encouragement of the
state and federal governments to implement a plan for
the safe and affordable distribution of medical
marijuana to those patients who need it, the court
found that the Medical Marijuana Program Act and its
legalization of collectives and cooperatives
represented the state government's initial response to
this directive. By expressly providing for
reimbursement for marijuana and services in connection
with collectives and cooperatives, the Legislature has
abrogated cases such as Trippett, Peron and Young, and
established a new defense to those who form and
operate collectives and cooperatives to dispense
marijuana. Defendants convictions for conspiracy to
distribute marijuana were reversed and, at a new
trial, they would be permitted to assert a defense
under the collective and cooperative provision of SB
420.

To read the decision:
<http://www.safeaccessnow.org/downloads/People_v_Urziceanu.PDF>


--
Kris Hermes
Legal Campaign Director
Americans for Safe Access
http://www.SafeAccessNow.org
1322 Webster Street, Suite 208
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: 510-251-1856 x307
Fax: 510-251-2036
Email: kris at SafeAccessNow.org