By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
A federal court ruled Tuesday that the Department of Justice cannot pay to prosecute people who are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.
That means the DOJ cannot prosecute people who have a license to smoke medicinal marijuana, even if it violates federal drug laws, Time reports.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cited a 2014 Congressional law that prohibited the Justice Department from getting involved with state medical marijuana laws.
The court sent back cases in which defendants were charged with distributing marijuana in states where it’s legal.
There already are 25 states that allow medical marijuana, and nine more states will decide on similar laws in November.
