Hanging in the balance could be whether the state’s nearly 45,000 medical marijuana cardholders are limited to using the drug only in its plant form or can obtain products ranging from the kind of tincture Zander’s parents want to infusions into sodas and candy.

But Cooper suggested it might be more appropriate for her to address only Zander’s needs, leaving the question of everyone else for another day.

Andersson acknowledged that possibility. In fact, she conceded that her lawsuit is specifically limited to getting help for the Weltons, who have a medical marijuana card for their son.

But if Cooper rules that extracts are permissible under the 2010 law, that clearly would open the door for others to seek similar — people who Mangum referred to as “potheads” and “stoners” who really are getting the drug for recreational use only.

At the heart of the fight are provisions in the voter-approved law allowing those with a doctor’s permission to obtain up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks. And it defines “usable marijuana” as the dried flowers of the plan “and any mixture or preparation thereof.”

The Weltons had been using a tincture made by compressing the oil and resin out of the plant.