Arizona officials have announced that the medical use of marijuana by a qualified patient while they’re pregnant will no longer automatically trigger a child abuse investigation.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety says that it will no longer investigate reports of marijuana exposure in newborns if the parent has a valid medical marijuana authorization.
The policy shift, taking effect next month, comes after a state Court of Appeals ruled that Arizona’s medical marijuana law protects marijuana use while pregnant because the patient is under a doctor’s care.
Given the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear the case, it allowed the ruling to stay.
“We believe under Ridgell we do not have the authority to investigate prenatal exposure,” said Kathryn Ptak, an attorney for the Department of Child Safety.
“It’s just amazing,” said Lindsay Ridgell, the woman behind the case and a former Department employee. “Moms don’t have to worry anymore.”
Ptak says the agency gets around 400 reports of newborns being exposed to substances each month, and about 60% of them involve marijuana. Only about 4% result in the child being removed from the home.
According to the Arizona Department of Revenue, licensed marijuana retail outlets made $25,169,783 in tax revenue from the legal distribution of marijuana in November, with year-to-date marijuana tax revenue at $230 million.
