Denver District Judge Larry Naves last week overturned a state policy limiting the number of patients a medical marijuana provider can serve.In July, Naves suspended the rule that limited providers to five patients as a result of a lawsuit brought by Damien LaGoy, who uses medical marijuana to calm nausea brought on by medications for AIDS and Hepatitis C. LaGoy had asked the state to approve Daniel Pope as his registered medical marijuana provider. When the state refused because Pope already served five patients, LaGoy’s case was taken up by Sensible Colorado, a nonprofit organization working for effective drug policy. Lawyers with Sensible Colorado argued the policy violated the Colorado Open Meetings Act because it was adopted in a closed-door meeting in 2004 without public testimony. Judge Naves agreed and also said LaGoy should not have to suffer. His ruling last week permanently overturned the five-patient limit.
LaGoy and the roughly 1,700 registered medical marijuana patients in the state will now be able to choose their providers regardless of their number of patients.
