Truth Seeker
New Member
The Montana Supreme Court Friday upheld a lower court ruling that hashish and hash oil are not considered marijuana under the state's medical marijuana law.
The case arose from the June 2010, arrest of Buddy Wade Pirello on Interstate 90 in Mineral County after a law enforcement officer searched his vehicle and found drug paraphernalia, three marijuana cigarettes, 20 small baggies of marijuana totaling 52 grams (exceeding the amount medical marijuana cardholders are permitted), plus two one-gram bottles, labeled "hash," with liquid in each.
Pirello was charged with a felony for possession of a gram or more of hashish, and with misdemeanors for the marijuana, paraphernalia and driving under the influence of drugs.
Montana law recognizes medical marijuana cards issued in other states, and Pirello claimed his Washington state medical marijuana card allowed him to possess the hash oil.
A Mineral County judge rejected that argument, and Pirello, in an agreement with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to the felony while reserving the right to appeal. The misdemeanors were dismissed, and Pirello received a three-year deferral of sentencing.
Before the high court, Pirello argued that the medical marijuana law defines the medicine as "any mixture or preparation of marijuana" and therefore must include hashish.
But the Supreme Court noted that another section of criminal code specifically distinguishes hashish from marijuana, calling hashish "the mechanically processed or extracted plant material that contains (THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) and is composed of resin from the cannabis plant."
"In order to have been considered 'useable marijuana,' the substance Pirello possessed needed to be a preparation of the intact 'plant material from the genus cannabis,'" Montana Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the unanimous five-judge panel. "Once that plant material was 'mechanically processed or extracted' in a manner that reduced it to resins, the substance ceased to fall within the definition of 'marijuana' and therefore could not be contained within the definition of 'useable marijuana.'"
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: helenair.com
Author: Sanjay Talwani
Contact: helenair.com | Contact Us
Website: High court: Hash not medical marijuana
The case arose from the June 2010, arrest of Buddy Wade Pirello on Interstate 90 in Mineral County after a law enforcement officer searched his vehicle and found drug paraphernalia, three marijuana cigarettes, 20 small baggies of marijuana totaling 52 grams (exceeding the amount medical marijuana cardholders are permitted), plus two one-gram bottles, labeled "hash," with liquid in each.
Pirello was charged with a felony for possession of a gram or more of hashish, and with misdemeanors for the marijuana, paraphernalia and driving under the influence of drugs.
Montana law recognizes medical marijuana cards issued in other states, and Pirello claimed his Washington state medical marijuana card allowed him to possess the hash oil.
A Mineral County judge rejected that argument, and Pirello, in an agreement with prosecutors, pleaded guilty to the felony while reserving the right to appeal. The misdemeanors were dismissed, and Pirello received a three-year deferral of sentencing.
Before the high court, Pirello argued that the medical marijuana law defines the medicine as "any mixture or preparation of marijuana" and therefore must include hashish.
But the Supreme Court noted that another section of criminal code specifically distinguishes hashish from marijuana, calling hashish "the mechanically processed or extracted plant material that contains (THC, the active ingredient in marijuana) and is composed of resin from the cannabis plant."
"In order to have been considered 'useable marijuana,' the substance Pirello possessed needed to be a preparation of the intact 'plant material from the genus cannabis,'" Montana Chief Justice Mike McGrath wrote for the unanimous five-judge panel. "Once that plant material was 'mechanically processed or extracted' in a manner that reduced it to resins, the substance ceased to fall within the definition of 'marijuana' and therefore could not be contained within the definition of 'useable marijuana.'"
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: helenair.com
Author: Sanjay Talwani
Contact: helenair.com | Contact Us
Website: High court: Hash not medical marijuana
