United States v. Cannabis Cultivators Club

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

INTRODUCTION

The issue presented by these related lawsuits is whether defendants’ admitted distribution of marijuana for use by' seriously ill persons upon a physician’s recommendation violates federal law, 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a), and if so, whether defendants’ conduct in this regard should be enjoined pursuant to the injunctive relief provisions of the federal Controlled Substances Act. See 21 U.S.C. § 882 (a). This is the only issue before the Court. These lawsuits, for example, do not challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative, as a whole. Nor do they reflect a decision on the part of the federal government to seek to enjoin a local governmental agency from carrying out the humanitarian mandate envisioned by the citizens of this State when they voted to approve this law.

These eases also do not present the question of whether all conduct exempt from prosecution under the state drug laws by Proposition 215 violates federal law. For example, the Court is not deciding whether a seriously ill person who possesses marijuana for personal use upon a physician’s recommendation is in violation of federal law. Rather, the…