The Department of Justice has agreed with defense lawyers that five Washington state residents ― including members of the same family ― who said they grew and used marijuana for medical reasons had complied with state law and that the U.S. government shouldn’t have pursued federal charges against them.

In a brief filed late Monday in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, DOJ lawyers acknowledged that the department “was not authorized to spend money on the prosecution of the defendants after December of 2014 because the defendants strictly complied with the Washington state medical marijuana laws.”

DOJ Admits It Isn’t Legal To Keep Prosecuting Washington State Medical Marijuana Users