That Arizona Supreme Court ordered the removal of a woman’s name from the state’s child abuse registry after it was revealed she had used medicinal cannabis during pregnancy.

What happened?

Lindsay Ridgell fought morning sickness and nausea during their pregnancy with medical cannabis.

Although Ridgell argued that her doctor had a medical marijuana card in 2019, the state Department of Child Safety (DCS) decided to put her name on the agency’s central registry after her newborn tested positive for cannabis, a local news outlet reported. Ridgell was working for DCS at the time of her pregnancy.

As a result of the department’s decision, Ridgell was charged with child neglect. they also said later found it difficult to find a job.

An unfair “blacklist”

DCS employers use the registry as part of their background checks on employees who work with vulnerable children and adults; Allegations of neglect and abuse may result in an individual being included in this confidential directory.

Additionally, anyone put on the list is doomed to remain on it for 25 years, leading critics to dub it a “black list.”

A Fair Judgment: Not Guilty!

However, the Not only did the state Supreme Court decline to accept an appeal from the DSC that found no support last April of the Court of Appeals, the three-judge panel found Ridgell’s cannabis use was lawful and not amount to child neglect.

“It’s so great! (…) My client has been suffering from the uncertainty of this case for four years.” Ridgell’s attorney, said Julie Gunnigle other states MMJ had issues related to child welfare, “none of them have won a court ruling as clear as that of the Arizona Court of Appeals,” Gunnigle added.

The Court of Appeals also found that Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act states that cannabis use “shall be considered equivalent to the use of other medications under the direction of a physician”…