cannabisnews.com: Between Doctor and Patient Between Doctor and Patient Posted by CN Staff on November 03, 2002 at 16:26:54 PT By Daniel N. Abrahamson Source: San Francisco Chronicle Last week, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued a landmark ruling halting the federal government's attempts to scare California physicians and their seriously ill patients from discussing medical marijuana. A three-judge panel unanimously ruled, in Conant vs. Walters, that physicians have a First Amendment right to recommend medical marijuana to their patients, and that patients likewise have the constitutional right to receive such recommendations from their doctors. In so ruling, the court beat back efforts by federal "drug czar" John Walters, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Asa Hutchinson to censor physician speech with respect to marijuana -- an attempt by federal officials to undermine the will of California voters in passing Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, in 1996. The decision is noteworthy for several reasons. Most prominently, it upholds the right (and underscores the duty) of physicians to impart their medical advice to patients, even when that advice is politically unpopular in Washington, D.C. The decision also vindicates the interests of seriously ill patients in learning the honest opinions of their medical providers as to what therapies, mainstream or otherwise, might help them. The Ninth Circuit has declared in no uncertain terms that federal law enforcement agents have no place in a doctor's exam room. Second, the decision drives a stake through the heart of the federal government's unending mantra that marijuana serves no medical purpose. A substantial and growing body of medical literature from around the world demonstrates as much. An increasing number of medical and health organizations, including the American Public Health Association, support efforts to legalize marijuana for medical use. Judge Alex Kozinski cites these facts extensively in his concurring opinion. Daniel N. Abrahamson is director of legal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance -- http://www.drugpolicy.org -- a national organization devoted to drug policy reform (with offices in San Francisco and Sacramento, among other cities). Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/03/ED33058.DTL Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Daniel N. AbrahamsonPublished: November 3, 2002Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Chronicle - Page D - 5 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites:Conant vs. Walters in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/conant.pdfMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmConant vs. Walters & Judge Kozinskihttp://freedomtoexhale.com//cw.htmWhat U.S. Papers Say About Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14630.shtmlPot Ruling Shields Doctorshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14620.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 04, 2002 at 10:50:21 PT Dr. Russo I would just love to be a fly on the wall when you meet Dana! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 04, 2002 at 10:48:01 PT: Aaron and Me I suspect that Aaron is a long lost cousin. I hope to meet him and find out this weekend.I look forward to meeting Dana and his various incarnations, but I won't have time for Disneyland, just business. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by canaman on November 04, 2002 at 10:42:26 PT Excellent! Sounds very enlightening Is the producer Aaron Russo a relative? Maybe you will see DANA...and have time to go to Disneyland together! That could be worth the trip alone! ;-)Thanks for the links. Have a great trip! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 04, 2002 at 10:32:12 PT Dr. Russo That sounds like it is going to be great! I hope newspapers will cover this event. I expect to find articles after election. I sure hope so. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 04, 2002 at 10:27:46 PT: MPP/SSDP They are expecting 900-1000 participants. I hope that they are right about that. There should be plenty of college students, which is a key demographic. They have the energy and motivation to make a difference.Here's the site:http://www.mpp.org/conference/index.htmlthat leads to other pages including the schedule:http://www.mpp.org/conference/schedule.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by canaman on November 04, 2002 at 10:18:38 PT I agree FoM but I might make an exeception Wish I could've made it to L.A. for this also Dr.Russo. I just got back from there. Do you know how many people are expected to attend? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 04, 2002 at 10:10:11 PT: GW Results I will be presenting the GW Pharmaceuticals Phase III clinical trial results on Friday at the MPP/SSDP meeting in Anaheim.Don't ask! I don't have the data quite yet, and I'm sworn to secrecy! We're expecting good things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 04, 2002 at 10:09:43 PT canaman If I invested in the stock market I'd probably take a chance with GW Pharmaceuticals. I'm not much of a gambler so I've never been interested in investing. My motto is: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.I think that's right. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by canaman on November 04, 2002 at 10:04:22 PT Invest in Cures GW Pharmaceuticals shares move higher ahead of test results:GW is refusing to comment on the results ahead of the update but shares still surged, up 19.5p to 148p - a 15% spark.The rest of the story:http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_702713.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by DdC on November 03, 2002 at 18:59:08 PT A Project of Common Sense for Drug Policy Crime, Drug Prohibition and Terrorism: An Inevitable ConvergenceNarco Terror . Org http://www.narcoterror.org [ Post Comment ] Post Comment