Previously, in United States v. McIntosh, 833 F.3d 1163, 1177 (9th Cir.
2016), the Ninth Circuit held that defendants may seek to enjoin the
expenditure of federal funds on federal drug trafficking
prosecutions of individuals who engaged in conduct authorized by state medical marijuana laws and who fully
complied with such laws.
Unfortunately for the defendants in the case decided today, United States v. Gilmore, --- F.3d ---, No. 17-10142 (9th Cir. 2018), the holding of McIntosh does not extend to marijuana grows on federal land, even if the defendants were inadvertently on federal property. Thus, the Court affirmed the district court’s denial of a motion
to enjoin the government’s prosecution of the two defendants
charged with conspiracy to manufacture marijuana plants
and manufacture of marijuana plants, because the grow took place on federal land.
