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Arizona appeals court reverses DCS decision on mom who used medical marijuana

Published: Friday, April 1, 2022 - 12:09am
Updated: Friday, April 1, 2022 - 12:11am
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The Arizona Department of Child Safety put a medical marijuana patient on a list of child neglectors and abusers for exposing her baby to cannabis during pregnancy.

Now a state appeals court has reversed the decision.

Court records say the woman had a medical marijuana card for years before she became pregnant.

Due to her chronic nausea, a doctor renewed the card while she was pregnant.

After the woman gave birth in 2019, her baby tested positive for marijuana.

This led to a Department of Child Safety review, which resulted in the woman's name going onto a central registry kept by the state.

But a new opinion from the Arizona Court of Appeals says the Department of Child Safety’s decision was wrong, and concludes that her cannabis use was protected by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act passed by voters in 2010.

Marijuana