ASA Sues California DMV

Americans for Safe Access Sues California Department of Motor Vehicles, Asserts Patient Discrimination

Last week, Americans for Safe Access filed suit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles on behalf of a woman whose license was revoked simply because of her status as legally qualified to use medical cannabis. 53-year old Rose Johnson, of Atwater California, was rear-ended by a truck while waiting at a stoplight. Despite never having caused an accident in over 37 years of driving, the DMV obtained Ms. Johnson's medical records, saw that she was legally qualified to use cannabis as a treatment. In the post-accident interview, Ms. Johnson claimed to use cannabis sparingly, and never before she had to drive. Nevertheless, DMV revoked her license and and determined her unfit to drive "because of...[an] addiction to, or habitual use of, [a] drug".

"The DMV cannot simply disregard California's medical marijuana law," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who is representing Ms. Johnson in her claim against the DMV. "When the voters of California enacted the Compassionate Use Act, they never intended to authorize the DMV to strip medical marijuana patients of their drivers' licenses," continued Elford. "The DMV should not be in the business of revoking the licenses of drivers like Ms. Johnson simply because she is a medical marijuana patient."

ASA's records indicate that Ms. Johnson's experience may be widespread, having received complaints of license revocations in at least 8 California counties, including Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Glenn, Merced, Placer, Sacramento, and Sonoma. Therefore the impact of ASA's litigation, if successful, could be far-reaching and could lead to significant progress in the rights of patients legally permitted to use cannabis. Interestingly, Merced County (where ASA filed suit) recently enacted a police policy instructing Sheriff deputies to adhere to California law and not to cite medical cannabis patients. According to Elford, "The DMV is not under a different set of requirements than local police in California."

The lawsuit will be heard in Merced Superior Court in the next few months, and is part of an ongoing campaign by ASA to fully implement California's medical cannabis laws and guarantee the same rights to qualified patients as are enjoyed by every other citizen.

This article via Americans for Safe Access.