| Photo: Westword |
| Attorneys Bob Hoban (left) and Rob Corry, joined by patients, speak at a news conference about the CannaMart lawsuit. |
Breaking Update: Judge delays any decision until after Christmas
Medical marijuana advocates say today’s court hearing in Centennial, Colo., could set a big precedent for the future of the state’s booming medical marijuana industry, reports Gene Davis at Denver Daily News.
In October, the City of Centennial revoked the business license of CannaMart after learning the place was a medical marijuana dispensary. Two caregivers and three patients from CannaMart then sued the city, trying to have the decision overturned.
The case could, according to Davis, become a landmark decision on whether Colorado cities can use home rule authority to ban dispensaries from operating within city limits, despite approval of medical marijuana in a voter initiative in 2000.
| Photo: Westword |
| Attorney Rob Corry: “This is so much bigger than medical marijuana” |
”Already, this case has garnered tremendous national interest, and not just for its potential impact on medical marijuana patients and caregivers,” said attorney Robert J. Corry, Jr., who represents CannaMart.
“This is so much bigger than medical marijuana,” Corry said. “It’s about whether a local government can circumvent a voter approved state constitutional amendment to prohibit an entire industry from operating at all.”
CannaMart said it’s the first time in Colorado history that a coalition of patients and caregivers has sued a municipal government to reopen a dispensary.
Attorneys for the City of Centennial claimed in Friday’s initial hearing that cities can indeed ban dispensaries, because the marijuana stores violate federal law, which doesn’t recognize any medical use for pot.
CannaMart’s team of four attorneys said that cities cannot prohibit certain rights — including medical marijuana — that are protected under the state constitution as “matters of statewide concern.”
“Today’s case is going to change everything,” said medical marijuana patient and CannaMart customer Shannon Mosher, who has ankylosing spondylitis. “It’s definitely going to change the face of medical marijuana in Colorado.”