cannabisnews.com: Bill Would Allow Medical Defense in Trials Bill Would Allow Medical Defense in Trials Posted by CN Staff on April 11, 2003 at 08:24:21 PT By The Associated Press and Seattle Times Staff Source: Seattle Times Washington — Legislation introduced in Congress yesterday would give people accused by federal authorities of growing marijuana the right to present evidence at trial that the marijuana was to help the sick, as is now allowed in Washington and seven other states. The bill is the latest development in a controversy over the Bush administration's decision to prosecute people in those eight states who say they are growing marijuana for medical purposes. A 1970 federal law does not recognize any medical purposes for marijuana. A federal judge in January refused to allow Ed Rosenthal of Oakland, Calif., to tell jurors he was operating under state law. Jurors convicted Rosenthal. When they learned the details they had not been told during the trial, several jurors said they regretted the verdict. "This bill is about due process. It's not about pot," said U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., the bill's author. Washington voters passed Initiative 692 in 1998, giving people with cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, spasms, intractable pain and glaucoma the right to possess and use marijuana with a doctor's approval. Recently, however, federal law-enforcement officials in Washington have warned some medical-marijuana growers that they could be prosecuted. So far, though, no one in Washington has been. Supporters of medical marijuana locally say Farr's bill would at least give them a chance in court, should there be a prosecution. "It's better than nothing, because it would at least give us the opportunity to present the truth in a courtroom," said Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle attorney who specializes in representing medical-marijuana patients. "Right now, in federal court you're gagged. So the practical effect of Farr's bill would be to allow the jury to hear that my client is sick and essentially nullify the federal law." Farr's bill has the support of 25 colleagues, but only two Republicans. Supporters acknowledged they face a tough fight to win approval — or even a hearing — for the legislation. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., said he hopes Republicans in the eight states that permit marijuana use by the sick will back the bill. Besides Washington, the states are Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine and Oregon. California voters approved a medical-marijuana law in 1996. Rosenthal's arrest last year was among a string of federal Drug Enforcement Administration raids on medical-marijuana suppliers in California. Complete Title: Bill Would Allow Medical Defense in Trials Over Pot Source: Seattle Times (WA)Published: Friday, April 11, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Seattle Times CompanyContact: opinion seatimes.comWebsite: http://www.seattletimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmBill Allows Medical Marijuana Defense http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15930.shtmlBill Would Allow Medical Marijuana Defense http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15929.shtmlRepresentatives To Unveil Medical Pot Legislationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15923.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by afterburner on April 11, 2003 at 10:45:06 PT: j4c2d0: Don't Count on It... Get a second opinion. I suggest contacting one of the following medical cannabis groups operating in your state to see if you can get a refferal to a doctor who will fill-out the necessary paperwork for you.Transcendent Laws of the Heart -Jay R. Cavanaugh, PhD, the author, is National Director of the American Alliance for Medical Cannabis (AAMC). AAMC is a group of patients, caregivers, family members, and health professionals operating in California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Rhode Island with the mission of patient support and community education about adjunctive therapy with medical cannabis. American Alliance for Medical Cannabis - 2003 http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/images/AAMC2003.gifThe American Alliance For Medical Cannabis http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/index.htm Cannabis Common Sense #221 Cannabis Common Sense with HempTV Running Time: 1 hr 0 min Date Entered: 07 Apr 2003 Viewer Rating: 8.22 (5 votes) Number of Views: 503 Hemp News [from nearby Oregon], with Paul Stanford, then Paul is joined by Dr. Phillip Leveque, a physician and retired professor of pharmacology & toxicology, and Don Dupay, a social worker and retired Portland Police detective, as they take viewers' phone calls & questions. Tonight we have a special guest, Fred Gardner, who serenedes Dr. Leveque with his own song on California's Prop 215 on medical marijuana. Gardner writes a newspaper column and is a former aide to San Francisco DA Terrence Hallinan. Tonight's film clips: a new one on a Japanese hemp museum, and an excerpt with Willie Nelson & Gatewood Galbraith from the new film release, Hempsters: Plant the Seed. Play RealPlayer http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse1864.ramPhone numbers are provided for multi-state referrals. Best wishes and keep safe.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by j4c2d0 on April 11, 2003 at 10:10:33 PT: Am I covered ? I live in Washington State, and even though my doctor won't say he thinks that I would bennefit from marijuana use. He does state in my medical report that I use it. "Jeff has resulted to using marijuana to help ease his anxiety and take the edge off of his pain. He states that he has used marijuana in the past for social occations, primarily once or twice a month at parties but starting in the last several weeks he has been using it on a very regular basis and over the past couple of weeks has been using every day if not muliple times every day."Under WA RCW 69.51a marijuana can be used for medical purposes. However you must have the right documentation. I have given my doctor the form from the Washington State Medical Association, however he doesn't want to fill it out. I think out of fear, from uncle sam.My question is this: is the above quote from my medical record enough to present to cop's and or courts? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment