Possessing a valid medical marijuana card issued by another state is not enough to stop someone from being convicted of possession of marijuana in Iowa, a divided Iowa Supreme Court decided in a ruling handed down on Friday. The 4-3 decision came in the case of Pamela Middlekauff, who was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in May 2021.

Middlekauff, a resident of Arizona, was driving across Iowa in December 2019, transporting the dog of a deceased person from Arizona to its new home in Wisconsin, when she was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding in Warren County. While speaking to Middlekauff, the trooper said he could smell marijuana. Middlekauff explained that she had not been smoking marijuana, but had some cannabis flowers in bags in her car, which she had legally purchased from a dispensary in Arizona.

Middlekauff has had a state-issued medical marijuana card in Arizona since 2018, due to chronic pain from osteoarthritis. She presented the card to the trooper, along with a pouch containing “ten individual one-gram pouches of marijuana flowers.” The trooper charged Middlekauff with possession of marijuana.

Middlekauff said she believed her Arizona card meant she could legally possess the marijuana she had purchased there. When her case came to trial, Middlekauff’s attorney argued a medical marijuana card should be considered the same as a prescription, and since…