Politics & Government
Medical Marijuana Legal On College Campus, AZ High Court Rules
The ruling comes in the case of Andre Maestas who, while a student at Arizona State, was arrested for possession despite having a card.
PHOENIX, AZ – It started back in March, 2014. Andre Maestas was a student at Arizona State University when a school police officer searched him and found a valid medical marijuana card.
Maestas admitted that he had .4 of a gram of marijuana back in his dorm room, which is an allowable amount under the law.
Despite that, the officer got a search warrant, found the pot, and arrested Maestas for possession.
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Maestas moved to have the charge dismissed, arguing that his card was valid and a state law prohibiting possession on a college campus – even with a valid card – was unconstitutional. (Get Phoenix Patch's real-time news alerts and free morning news letters. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)
The judge threw out his motion and then convicted him at trial.
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On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court ruled that the judge had been wrong and threw out Maestas's conviction.
The panel of judges also ruled the state law unconstitutional, allowing for people with valid medical marijuana cards to possess permissible amounts on college campuses.
Image via Shutterstock.
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