cannabisnews.com: Hands Off Our Freedoms





Hands Off Our Freedoms
Posted by CN Staff on May 31, 2002 at 10:33:48 PT
Editorial
Source: San Francisco Examiner
President Bush is all for states' rights -- unless the state is California and the rights are ours.  The administration is working to revive sanctions against doctors who prescribe marijuana for their seriously ill patients. The punishments, including stripping docs of their licenses, were first proposed in 1996, just after state voters passed medical-marijuana initiative Proposition 215. The feds were blocked by district judges because the new rules were a threat to free speech (or free advice-giving). That hasn't stopped the current feds from trying again. 
"Why on earth does an administration that's committed to the concept of federalism ... want to go to this length to put doctors in jail for doing something that's perfectly legal under state law?" said Judge Alex Kozinski, usually the most conservative member of the D.C. appeals bench, where the administration has gone for a rehearing. Good question.  Meanwhile, the nation's drug czar, John Walters, is using his $180 million PR budget to place ads and stories that medical marijuana is "part of the drug legalization agenda" pushed by a handful of rich eccentrics. Last we knew, most voters in California weren't all that wealthy.  Federal drug agents recently raided medical-pot cooperatives in The City and in West Hollywood, not to mention the continuing saga of the Oakland club that started all the court challenges.   We're not the only state to legalize pot for treatment: Voters in eight other states, most recently Vermont, have approved its use on a patient-by-patient basis. And as President Bush said back on the campaign trail, the medical-marijuana issue is one that states should be able to decide "as they so choose."  U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is to rule June 7 on the government's argument that dispensaries in the state cannot legally distribute. In advance of the ruling, which some say he is telegraphing the feds will win, some clubs have already shut.  Appeals court rulings have gone both ways, with some saying all pot distribution is illegal and some saying "medical necessity" overrules federal laws.   The Supreme Court has ruled in one case that federal drug laws can supersede Prop. 215. Still, there are constitutional questions, such as how far Congress is allowed to interfere with intrastate commerce, how extensive are states' rights to experiment with their own laws, and whether Americans have a fundamental right to use pot to ease pain.  Until such questions are answered, it is better for the feds to concentrate on keeping us safe from terror and crime than from people crippled by illness who want to toke up. Or even to spend the money on discovering cures for the illnesses.Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Published: May 30, 2002Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Examiner Contact: letters examiner.com Website: http://www.examiner.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Cannabis Action Nethttp://www.cannabisaction.net/Americans for Safe Accesshttp://safeaccessnow.org Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmPot Posture Fails 'Red-Face Test' http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12995.shtmlMedical Marijuana Wars Heat Up http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12932.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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