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Montgomery Urges Parents Bidding For Use Of Marijuana Extract To Work With Legislators

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is asking a judge to throw out a bid by the parents of a 5-year-old Mesa boy, who suffers from seizures, to get a marijuana extract from dispensaries.

Zander Welton has the needed doctor’s recommendation to be a medical marijuana patient and originally his parents were giving him the extract, saying it was easier for him to swallow and did not contain the chemicals that could make him high. But after Montgomery said state law legalizes the marijuana plant, but not the extract, dispensaries stopped selling the extract.

Montgomery says the law is clear and the parents should try go to state lawmakers if they want to change it.

“I get the emotions here, and I understand perfectly the one case that's motivating the parents who want to take the action,” Montgomery said. “But you know, if they start working with legislators now and they get an emergency clause, this is done by, what, the third week of January?”

Attorney Dan Pochoda of the American Civil Liberties Union questioned the practicality of getting lawmakers to alter the 2010 voter-approved law. That would require a three-quarters vote in each house of the Legislature, and the Governor’s signature. No date has been set for a hearing on the parent’s request.

Dennis Lambert was a morning host at KJZZ.