Colorado Supreme Court to weigh in on how judges decide when people on probation can use medical marijuana

[KLAW Blog]

Colorado courts are still trying to figure out the ground rules for people using medical marijuana while on probation, and the state Supreme Court will weigh in when it hears oral arguments Thursday in an El Paso County case where a judge denied a woman’s use of the drug while on probation for DUI.

The woman will ask justices to decide whether a defendant must provide evidence that the marijuana is medically necessary or whether probationers can use it unless a judge decides it’s appropriate for the sentence. The case also questions to what lengths a probationer must go to prove the marijuana is critical to their health.

Attorneys who represent criminal defendants hope the court’s decision will provide more clarity on the issue. Supreme Court decisions take months.

A county court judge prohibited Alysha Walton from using medical marijuana while on probation for a DUI, and a district court judge agreed with the decision.

But the Colorado Public Defender’s Office, which represented Walton, has argued the county court abused its discretion and violated Walton’s rights, according to the opening brief to the Supreme Court. The judge placed an undue burden on Walton when she demanded that Walton have her doctor testify in court about the necessity of marijuana, the public defenders said. Walton had brought her state-issued medical marijuana card to court.

Read the rest of the story HERE at the Denver Post

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