| Photo: Townhall.com |
| Judge Mark Somers claims that Michigan’s medical marijuana law is illegal, since federal law bans the weed. |
A suburban Detroit area judge claims that Michigan’s medical marijuana law is illegal, and is trumped by federal drug laws which classify cannabis as a Schedule I substance.
Dearborn District Judge Mark Somers ruled in March in a case involving a man who was caught with pot before he received a medical marijuana card, reports The Associated Press. The patient, Robert Brandon, unsuccessfully tried to have his case dismissed.
The decision by Somers — one of three judges in Dearborn — isn’t binding on other judges in Dearborn or in Michigan. “But anyone appearing in Somers’ court and arguing a medical marijuana defense will lose,” AP reports.
Judge Somers claims that Michigan can’t allow the medical use of marijuana legally when Congress has made it illegal.
Bill DeBiasi, a Dearborn city prosecutor, said the illegality of Michigan’s medical marijuana law was one of his arguments, though not the main one.
Sixty-three percent of Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of marijuana for medical uses in 1998. Every county in the state voted for the measure.