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On March 19, the Arizona Supreme Court discussed the legality of medical marijuana extracts in Arizona. The justices appeared to agree that medical marijuana extracts, or hashish, are included in the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), which would make them legal in Arizona.

Arizona Supreme Court Justice John Pelander noted that the state’s definition of marijuana does in fact include all parts of the plant, the Arizona Capitol Times noted.

The AMMA defines “usable marijuana” as “the dried flowers of the marijuana plant, and any mixture or preparation thereof, but does not include the seeds, stalks and roots of the plant.” This definition clearly includes marijuana extracts when it says “any mixture or preparation thereof.”

The prosecutor representing this issue claimed that the AMMA doesn’t include marijuana extracts and that Arizona voters understood that when they voted for the ballot measure in 2009. But Pelander disagrees.

“It’s undisputed in this case that the resin that we’re talking about here is a part of the plant,” said Pelander. “So tell me again why the people of Arizona would have known that resin extracted from a marijuana plant would not be covered by AMMA?”

The court is expected to officially rule on this issue within a few months.

Arizona has allowed dispensaries to sell marijuana extracts and law enforcement (except in Yavapai County) has been allowing patients to use and possess extracts since the AMMA was implemented.

Until the Court rules on this extract issue, most dispensaries will likely continue to sell extracts to qualifying patients.

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