Medical marijuana use during pregnancy is no longer considered child abuse in Arizona

The use of medical marijuana during pregnancy and under the supervision of a physician does not qualify as child neglect, according to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last week that pregnant women who use medicinal cannabis under medical supervision cannot ignore their unborn child and cannot be placed on a list that could restrict their employment. As a result of the ruling, Lindsay Ridgell, a former Department of Child Safety (DCS) employee, is no longer listed on the organization’s central registry.

The DCS Central Registry is a list of individuals found to have abused or neglected their children. If anyone on this list applies for a job that affects children or other vulnerable groups, it should be a red flag.

Senting Judge Randall Howe concluded on behalf of the court that Ridgell’s use of cannabis to treat nausea during pregnancy was equivalent to taking any other medication under a doctor’s prescription because she had a medical marijuana passport prescribed by a doctor had been .

Ridgell’s use of marijuana was covered by the AMMA (Arizona Medical Marijuana Act), and that protection includes exposure of her unborn child to marijuana throughout her pregnancy. Loud —Howe in judgment.

Lindsay Ridgell will no longer be included in the Confidential Registry, which has limited her career opportunities since her admission in 2019. That comes from the decision of the Arizona Supreme Court last week. Additionally, it could have broader implications as medical cannabis use is less likely to be considered by the law as a form of child neglect.

Both medical and adult use of cannabis are legal in Arizona.

MARIJUANA CONSUMPTION LEADS TO POSITIVE BABY TESTS

The case dates back to 2019, the year Ridgell was born. DCS had to be notified by the hospital if the child tested positive for marijuana. If a child is born who has been exposed to drugs, that is considered negligent under state law unless the exposure occurred while the mother was receiving medical care.

Although Ridgell possessed a medical marijuana card, DCS investigators discovered that despite having a medical marijuana card, she kept her marijuana use a secret from other doctors who attended her obstetrics. Although they did not take her child away from her, they tried to register it with the central register. Career prospects may be affected by a registration entry that is valid for 25 years.

A state administrative court judge sided with Ridgell when she appealed the DCS decision. As permitted by law, Director Faust reversed that decision, finding that Ridgell had acted negligently in her failure to communicate with her other doctors. Here, too, a registration was suggested to her.

In response, Ridgell went to the state appeals court. She claimed that exposure to marijuana was a necessary part of medical therapy because she obtained her medical cannabis card with a doctor’s approval.

Their use of marijuana is similar to taking any other prescription drug, the court agreed, noting in its decision.

Howe’s conclusion was supported by Justices Michael Brown and Brian Furuya.

THE COURT RULES THAT THE DCS WERE WRONG IN ADDING THE WOMAN TO THE REGISTER

The DCS director erred in listing the lady “for exposing her baby to marijuana before birth,” according to Judge Howe. A mother can be listed in the central register if her newborn baby has been exposed to certain drugs, including marijuana, he said, “but only if that exposure did not result from medical treatment by a health professional.”

Judge Howe writes that the evidence shows that she was licensed under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) “to use marijuana medicinally to treat chronic nausea” and that her certifying physician was aware of her pregnancy, although the DCS and the Woman who do not agree that she informed her doctor about the use of medical marijuana during pregnancy.

The verdict came after an administrative judge found the lady credible and concluded that she had told doctors she had used medical marijuana.

At the time, the woman, who used cannabis while pregnant, claimed that being put on the registry was punishment because “AMMA contained an innate immune provision that protects users from “being imprisoned, court-ordered, punished in any way, or given any harm To be denied rights or privileges” when their possession and use are compatible with AMMA.”

The head of the agency disagreed with the administrative judge’s order for DCS to reverse its decision to list the lady. The director found that the mother’s marijuana use was not under medical supervision and that her lack of communication with her medical providers posed an “unreasonable risk” to her child’s health and safety.

COURT MOVES TO REVERSE THE PREVIOUS DECISIONS

Whether any of the woman’s other doctors knew she was using medical marijuana for her ongoing nausea — and any dispute about it — is irrelevant to the director’s other findings, Judge Howe writes in the recent ruling. He continues: “We are overturning both the director’s decision and the higher court’s confirmation of that decision.

Judge Howe notes that “the level of this protection may be imprudent,” although the appeals court ruled in the woman’s favor and agreed that AMMA’s marijuana use was protected. He mentions the US government’s current position of not recognizing the therapeutic benefits of marijuana.

Judge Howe stated that the legitimate place of marijuana in society has long been a matter of debate and the wisdom of the law is not a matter for this court.

FINAL EFFECT

Under federal law, the use of cannabis was not even accepted for medicinal purposes, but most states support medicinal use as long as you have obtained a medical use license, resulting in women with the license being eligible to use cannabis even while during pregnancy, as long as the doctors who issued the permit are aware of it.

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