[JURIST] A federal judge on Tuesday struck down a Colorado law that would have required businesses to place marijuana related magazines behind counters. Judge Richard Matsch of the US District Court for the District of Colorado [official website] ordered [Reuters report] a permanent injunction against Amendment 64 [text, PDF] which would have treated marijuana related magazines similarly to pornographic material. The ruling comes after magazine publishers and bookstores filed a lawsuit [complaint] against the state last week. In response to the suit the Colorado Department of Revenue [official website] announced it would not enforce the rule. In addition, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office [official website] made an announcement that they would not to defend the rule, instead voicing agreement with the publishing companies that the provision was unconstitutional.

The sale and use of marijuana remains a controversial issue in the US and abroad. Last month Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper [official website] signed [JURIST report] a new set of laws regulating the use and sale of recreational marijuana. Earlier last month the Supreme Court of California ruled [JURIST report] unanimously that local governments may outlaw medical marijuana dispensaries, upholding a ban enacted by the city of Riverside in 2010. In February the Michigan Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that the private sale of medical marijuana is illegal. Additionally, the top court in Ontario upheld Canada’s general ban on marijuana [JURIST report]. In December an Arizona judge ruled [JURIST report] that the state’s medical marijuana law is constitutional and instructed the state to permit dispensaries to open.