Arizona court rules marijuana resin illegal; edibles affected

Lauren Castle | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Huxton's marijuana facility in Mesa A tour of Huxton's medical-marijuana facility in Mesa. Thomas Hawthorne/azcentral

The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that medical cannabis extracts, also called hashish, do not fall under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and can no longer be sold in dispensaries.

The ruling affects anything made from marijuana resin, which is often used for vaping and in edible products.

"According to our Supreme Court, hashish is 'the resin extracted from marijuana plant,' criminalized as cannabis, a narcotic drug, and distinct from marijuana," the court ruled.

The decision came after an appeal by Rodney Jones, who was convicted and sentenced for possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.

"The state argues that by not specifically including extracted resin within its description of immunized marijuana, AMMA adopts the 'preexisting law distinguishing between cannabis and marijuana.' We agree. We construe statutory language in light of existing understanding," the ruling states.

Jones was found in possession of a jar containing 0.05 ounces of hashish in March 2013, according to court records. He was a registered patient using marijuana for medicinal reasons.

He was convicted in 2016 after waiving his right to a jury trial.

The court said Jones was not immune from prosecution.

Jones was sentenced to serve concurrent presumptive terms of 2½ years in jail for drug possession, one year for possession of drug paraphernalia and given credit for 366 days he served in jail before he was sentenced.

The ruling is expected to be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.

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