Calif. Supreme Court strikes down Legislature’s attempt to set medical pot limits

Calif. high court strikes down medical pot limits

SAN FRANCISCO — A unanimous California Supreme Court has struck down a law that sought to impose limits on the amount of marijuana a medical patient can legally possess.

The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state lawmakers were wrong to change provisions of the voter-approved Proposition 215. The 1996 measure allowed for patients with a doctor’s recommendation to possess an unspecified amount of marijuana.

The Legislature, seeking to give law enforcement guidance on when to make marijuana possession arrests, mandated in 2003 that each patient could have a maximum of 12 ounces of dried marijuana.

The high court says only voters can change amendments that they’ve added to California’s constitution through the initiative process.