cannabisnews.com: Federal Judge Rules Against Medical Marijuana Club





Federal Judge Rules Against Medical Marijuana Club
Posted by CN Staff on June 14, 2002 at 10:40:35 PT
By Jim Burns, CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
Source: CNSNews.com 
A federal judge in California has ruled in favor of a Justice Department request to permanently block three northern California medical marijuana clubs from the distributing the drug to patients.U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco ruled against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana and a dispensary located in Ukiah. Attorneys for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative said they would appeal Breyer's ruling to a higher court.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year rejected the Oakland cooperative's claim that federal law allowed the distribution of marijuana to patients with a proven medical need for it.In his ruling Thursday, Breyer said, "In the absence of an injunction, the defendants (the clubs) are likely to resume distributing marijuana in violation of the Controlled Substances Act."Given the amount of marijuana distributed by the clubs, the potential prison time faced by the individual defendants...is significant. Furthermore, the fact that the defendants were distributing marijuana to seriously ill patients is not a defense under federal law."California is one of eight states that allow individuals to grow or use small amounts of marijuana for medical purposes as long as the use is ordered and supervised by a physician. Thursday's ruling banned clubs from distributing the drug.Keith Stroup, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said the judge's ruling was expected, but unfortunate."By targeting these dispensaries, the federal government is forcing seriously ill Californians to obtain their medicine on the street from the black market," Stroup said. "While the government's actions may result in driving the use of medicinal marijuana underground, they will do nothing to stop the use of medical cannabis by those who require it and have a legal right to it under state law."Stroup said he doesn't expect Breyer's decision to invalidate California's Proposition 215, which legalizes the use, cultivation and possession of marijuana by qualified patients.Proposition 215 was approved by California voters in 1996.Americans For Safe Access, a grassroots campaign in favor of medical marijuana, expressed displeasure with the judge's ruling as well."We demand that all prosecutions of medical marijuana patients, growers and dispensaries cease immediately. We demand that President Bush and Attorney General (John) Ashcroft declare a moratorium on the federal anti-medical marijuana campaign. We demand President Bush declare his support for HR 2592, the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana act," the group declared in a statement.But a Drug Enforcement Administration said federal authorities will continue to take action against the California clubs."Cannabis is illegal under federal law. The cannabis clubs are actually marijuana distribution centers. We will enforce the Controlled Substances Act," said DEA spokesman Thomas Hinojosa in a statement.Newshawk: Nicholas Thimmesch II - http://www.norml.org/Source: CNSNews.comAuthor: Jim Burns, CNSNews.com Senior Staff WriterPublished: June 14, 2002Copyright: 1998-2002 Cybercast News ServiceWebsite: http://www.cnsnews.com/Contact: shogenson cnsnews.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/OCBC Versus US Government http://freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmOakland Pot Club Takes Case To US Appeals Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13122.shtmlFederal Injunction Halts Pot Buyers Clubshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13113.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on June 14, 2002 at 11:02:32 PT:
The fuse is lit
and it's racing towards one Hell of an explosion....I cannot believe the Feds have become so hidebound and stupid that they can't see where this is heading. Jury trials are inevitable. If those the Feds seek to punish for their adherence to California State law refuse any deals and demand a trial, the fat will be in the fire. For the laughably threadbare and histrionic 'proof' of MMJ's deleterious qualities will be offered by the Prosecution...and scientific proof of it's medicinal qualities will be offered my the Defense. Take a guess who the local juries will listen to?A public trial, televised, in which the US government's insanity regarding cannabis will be publicly aired, is the absolute dumbest tactical move the antis could ever make. They have already lost in one case where, after local LEO's MMJ had been ordered to turn over someone's illegally seized medicine, the LEO's thought to do an end run around the loacl judge by bringing in the DEA. But when the DEA went to two magistrates to get signatures (on usually rubber-stamp warrants) they were turned down. As I said many times before, it's dangerous to anger your neighbors; they are a lot closer to you than the distant Feds are. And sick people with nothing to lose are dangerous people. I'm sure those Fed magistrates were thinking the same thing.Ashcroft, Walters and their sycophants think they've won...but they've only won a ring side seat to their own future public humiliations. After the (continuing) revelations concerning how the DoJ was so concerned on 'whupping up' on sick people they hundreds of agents tracking little old grannies in wheelchairs and didn't have bodies enough to monitor and prevent murderers from killing thousands of Americans, they can't afford too much more negative publicity, now can they?
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