Some were shocked when a group of potential jurors in Montana told a judge they couldn’t vote to convict a man for having less than a fifth of an ounce of cannabis.

While some even called it a “mutiny,” what it really was is a reality check for cannabis advocates and our opponents alike. While many websites call for jury nullification, it’s rare to see it happen. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Too may of us are trained since childhood to obey authority figures like judges and prosecutors. But they are just people like us, defending man-made laws we may or may not agree with. If those on a jury feel the defendant is guilty but the law in question is unjust or unreasonable, they can vote not guilty. A simple concept – and a potentially valuable one for marijuana advocates – but one that will be hard to implement in practice on any kind of wide scale.

Legalization will ultimately eliminate the need for jury nullification in cannabis cases. But for now it could be valuable for us to remember it exists.

- Joe Klare