April 1, 2022: Medical cannabis use permitted during pregnancy if mom is under doctor's care, Arizona court rules [USA Today]
Presiding Judge Randall Howe, writing for the court, concluded that because Lindsay Ridgell had a medical cannabis card prescribed by a doctor, her use of cannabis to counteract nausea was the same as taking any other prescription under a doctor's direction. [Ridgell v. ADCS, 4.5.2022]
January 12, 2023: A woman who used medical cannabis during her pregnancy did not neglect her pre-born child and should not be punished by being put on a list that could limit her employment, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.
The appeals court noted that Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act says cannabis use "must be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication under the direction of a physician" and concluded Ridgell did nothing wrong. That ruling last year reversed a string of previous legal decisions that had found Ridgell had neglected her child.
Lindsay Ridgell used medicinal cannabis to combat morning sickness during her pregnancy and now will have her name removed from the state's child-abuse registry.
The order from the Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday means Lindsay will no longer be listed on the Confidential Registry, which limited her job prospects since she was placed on it in 2019. It also could have broader implications, as medicinal cannabis use is less likely to be treated legally as a form of child neglect. [Arizona Supreme Court CV-22-0108-PR, 1.4.2023]
"It's so magnificent," Ridgell's attorney, Julie Gunnigle, said of the single-page order from the high court. "My client has been suffering for four years, fighting the uncertainty of this case." [USA Today]
[source]
E. Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Maine, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Washington have removed state-level criminal penalties for the medical use and cultivation of marijuana. Arizona joins in this effort for the health and welfare of its citizens.
F. States are not required to enforce federal law or prosecute people for engaging in activities prohibited by federal law. Therefore, compliance with this act does not put the state of Arizona in violation of federal law.
G. State law should make a distinction between the medical and nonmedical uses of marijuana. Hence, the purpose of this act is to protect patients with debilitating medical conditions, as well as their physicians and providers, from arrest and prosecution, criminal and other penalties and property forfeiture if such patients engage in the medical use of marijuana.
Sec. 3. Title 36, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding Chapter 28.1 to read:
Chapter 28.1: Arizona medical marijuana act
36-2813. Discrimination prohibited
C. For the purposes of medical care, including organ transplants, a registered qualifying patient's authorized use of marijuana must be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication under the direction of a physician and does not constitute the use of an illicit substance or otherwise disqualify a registered qualifying patient from medical care.
Like Lindsay Ridgell in Arizona, Scott Goold has been fighting the discrimination and loss of employment he suffered by Hawaiian Electric for four years. HECO fired Scott on February 25, 2019. Like Lindsay, Scott did nothing wrong.
HECO failed to inform Scott that the company restricted medical cannabis, as their own rules require. In fact, HECO HR rep Liz Dear told Scott that he would be fine. HR director Shana Buco fired Scott two weeks later. Corporate attorneys Susan Li and Thao Tran supported the termination decison.
An Arizona appeals court noted that Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act says cannabis use "must be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication under the direction of a physician" and concluded Ridgell did nothing wrong.
That ruling last year reversed a string of previous legal decisions that had found Ridgell had neglected her child. Hawai'i has the exact same provision. And, likewise, Scott Goold did nothing wrong.
For speaking up, it appears HECO has used Radio1 Asia to blackball Scott and encourage other employers not to hire him. For Scott and his family, it's like being a sexually-assaulted or raped woman in Hollywood and suffering the wrath and retaliation of Harvey Weinstein.
2019 Hawaii Revised Statutes
TITLE 19. HEALTH
329. Uniform Controlled Substances Act
329-125.5 Medical cannabis patient and caregiver protections.
source: HI Rev Stat § 329-125.5 (2019)]
§329-125.5 Medical cannabis patient and caregiver protections. (a) No school shall refuse to enroll or otherwise penalize, and no landlord shall refuse to lease property to or otherwise penalize, a person solely for the person's status as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver in the medical cannabis program under this part, unless failing to do so would cause the school or landlord to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulation; provided that the qualifying patient or primary caregiver strictly complied with the requirements of this part; provided further that the qualifying patient or primary caregiver shall present a medical cannabis registry card or certificate and photo identification, to ensure that the qualifying patient or primary caregiver is validly registered with the department of health pursuant to section 329-123.
(b) For the purposes of medical care, including organ transplants, a registered qualifying patient's use of cannabis in compliance with this part shall be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication under the direction of a physician and shall not constitute the use of an illicit substance or otherwise disqualify a registered qualifying patient from medical care.