Arizona Supreme Court to rule on legality of medical marijuana extracts

The Arizona Supreme Court will rule on whether medical marijuana extracts are legal to sell and possess, giving hope to the state’s MMJ businesses that they’ll be allowed to manufacture and peddle infused cannabis products without fear of legal repercussions.

The court has agreed to review the legality of the products after a challenge to a June ruling by the state’s Court of Appeals that cannabis resin containing THC and products made with it were not protected under the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, according to the Phoenix New Times.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The appeals court’s ruling arose from a 2016 case against a man who was convicted of felony possession of 0.05 ounces of hashish that he bought at a dispensary.
• If the state Supreme Court decides extracts aren’t illegal, dispensaries will be able to sell products such as vape cartridges, edibles and concentrates, which would be good for both the MMJ businesses and the product manufacturers.
• As of October 2018, Arizona’s MMJ dispensaries were still selling extracts as they awaited a resolution in the case.
• The state’s MMJ law makes an unusual distinction between marijuana and cannabis “resin,” which the statute treats as a narcotic, with criminal penalties for possession even with a valid medical marijuana ID card. The law interprets products made with cannabis oil or extracts as containing the narcotic cannabis resin.
• It will likely be several months before the high court makes a ruling.