Bill Montgomery Finally Drops Case Against Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery decided he will not challenge the latest ruling upholding Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA).

In 2016, the Arizona Court of Appeals found in favor of a Sun City medical marijuana dispensary, ruling that federal law prohibiting marijuana does not void Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act and that the county and state should therefore allow the dispensary to continue operating, the ACLU reported.

Emma Andersson, the ACLU’s lead attorney for the Sun City dispensary, said, “From the beginning, Maricopa County Attorney William Montgomery was clear about his intentions with this case – he wanted to shut down medical marijuana in Arizona and throughout the country. He spent five years in litigation, trying to use federal law as a cudgel against the will of voters in his own state and across the country. His effort failed.”

She also stated, “As he waged his futile battle in the drug war, White Mountain [the Sun City dispensary] and Arizona’s other dispensaries continued their good work, providing crucial medicine to people with debilitating conditions. That is what Arizonans wanted when they voted for medical marijuana access in 2010. Today, finally, medical marijuana is safe in Arizona.”