Federal Court of Appeals Upholds Ban on Prosecuting State-Compliant Medical Marijuana Businesses

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the 9^th Circuit, covering nine western states, earlier this week ruled unanimously that the Department of Justice is barred by federal law from prosecuting medical marijuana businesses if those businesses are operating in compliance with state law.

This decision came in an appeal in which the court had consolidated ten different cases from California and Washington, in which the defendants — growers and dispensaries — had argued that their federal indictments should…