cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Users May Be Immune To Prosecution 





Medical Pot Users May Be Immune To Prosecution 
Posted by CN Staff on July 20, 2002 at 14:03:24 PT
By Jason Schultz & Sentinel Staff & Wire Reports
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Medical marijuana users can get some immunity from criminal prosecution, the California Supreme Court has ruled.People who use medical marijuana and are arrested on drug charges can use their status in their defense before a trial starts, and if their cases do go to trial, the burden to show they have valid prescriptions is reduced, the court ruled Thursday. The ruling also applies to primary caregivers of medical marijuana users.
"For marijuana patients, it means they will be treated exactly the same as patients of physicians who receive a prescription," said Gerald Uelmen, who represented a medical marijuana patient convicted of possessing and cultivating the drug. "The law for many years in California has been if you are charged with unlawful possession of prescription drugs, all you have to do is raise a reasonable doubt that you have a valid prescription."That is a reduction in the degree of proof previously needed.State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, whose office prosecuted the case, applauded the decision, saying "I believe that the court’s decision strikes an appropriate balance in helping to ensure that truly needy patients whose doctors have recommended medical marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering related to serious illnesses will have access to this medicine under California law."California was the nation’s first state to approve medical marijuana in 1996 with the passage of Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act. Nonetheless, the U.S. Supreme Court said last year that it’s illegal to sell or possess marijuana for medical use.Santa Cruz medicinal marijuana activists say Thursday’s decision shows the state courts are behind the medicinal marijuana users and the buyer’s clubs and cooperatives that supply their medicinal pot. Valerie Corral, founder of the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, said the decision likely will lead to a legal showdown. Corral said she fears the DEA will come after her club with criminal charges for distribution, and she could face federal prosecution and a five-year minimum prison sentence. Santa Cruz County Sheriff Mark Tracy said the difference between the state court support for medicinal marijuana and the federal court opposition is somewhat confusing for law enforcement officers. But he said his office works to interpret the law and enforce it fairly.The state ruling stems from the arrest and conviction of Myron Mower, who uses marijuana to alleviate complications from diabetes. Mower was arrested in 1997 and convicted of possessing and cultivating marijuana.The appeals court affirmed Mower’s conviction and rejected his argument that his medical marijuana user status gave him complete immunity from prosecution.In its ruling, the state Supreme Court stated that a section of California law "reasonably must be interpreted to grant a defendant a limited immunity from prosecution." Sentinel reporter Jason Schultz contributed to this report.Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Jason SchultzPublished: July 20, 2002Copyright: 2002 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmMedical-Pot Backers Protest To Fedshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13067.shtmlThe Secret Garden - Metro Activehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread12358.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on July 20, 2002 at 22:12:36 PT
The cause of hospital infection deaths
Why are so many people dying from hospital infections? Because the bacteria have become resistant to most of the common antibiotics, thanks in large part to the pharmceutical industry pushing doctors to overprescribe them to people who are not in hospitals.And that antibacterial soap is going to be killing people too, because that was what doctors washed their hands in before surgery.Now that everyone is using that soap -- common bacteria are going to become resistant to it very quickly and doctors won't find it useful any longer for preventing hospital infections.
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Comment #2 posted by xxdr_zombiexx on July 20, 2002 at 14:55:19 PT
Marijuana Safer than Hospitals!
Hospital Infection Deaths In FocusCHICAGO, July 20, 2002(AP) About 103,000 deaths were linked to hospital infections in 2000 - 14 percent higher than government estimates - and nearly 75 percent of the deaths were preventable, the Chicago Tribune reported. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year calculated 90,000 deaths in 2000 were linked to hospital infections, the fourth leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease, cancer and strokes. Many of the deaths were caused by unsanitary facilities, germ-laden instruments and unwashed hands, the newspaper says in its early Sunday editions distributed Saturday. According to the report, infection rates are soaring nationally, exacerbated by hospital cutbacks and carelessness by doctors and nurses, and serious violations of infection-control standards have been found in the majority of hospitals. 
[snipped]See what I mean? Hutchinson can present smoked marijuana as a crude medicine, but it is clearly less dangerous than staying in the hospital, all other things being equal.
CBS NEWS : Hospital Infection Deaths
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Comment #1 posted by JHarshaw on July 20, 2002 at 14:46:29 PT
The Process becomes the Punishment
"People who use medical marijuana and are arrested on drug charges can use their status in their defense
    before a trial starts, and if their cases do go to trial, the burden to show they have valid prescriptions is
    reduced, the court ruled Thursday."The Police will still kick in your door, hold you at gunpoint, (if they don't shoot by accident), incarcerate, conficate, trash your house etc. etc.Then when you finally get to court it will just be a little easier to prove your medical need.  It still won't help restore the pieces of your shattered life.Sometimes I despair of them ever getting it right.
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