cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Medical Marijuana Posted by CN Staff on April 25, 2003 at 07:38:17 PT Editorial Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal Responding to a federal raid last September on a small pot farm about 15 miles north of town, the city and county of Santa Cruz, Calif., Wednesday filed suit in federal court against Attorney General John Ashcroft and the DEA. The city wants federal agents to stay away from the farm, whose owners have now been deputized by the city to cultivate and possess medical marijuana under a city ordinance that allows the distribution of the drug to sick and dying people. Last fall, as ill cancer patients on crutches stood by in tears, federal agents used chainsaws to cut down 165 marijuana plants at the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, arresting the founders, Valerie and Michael Corral. Although voters in California -- as well as Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington -- have gone to the polls and authorized the plant to be grown and distributed to sick people on a doctor's recommendation, federal law has treated marijuana as a dangerous narcotic, in the same class as heroin, since 1937. The September raid outraged local officials and many community members in the coastal town, where police and sheriffs work closely with medical marijuana users and growers, and the Compassion Flower Inn -- a bed and breakfast inn for medical marijuana users -- operates openly just a few blocks from downtown. DEA spokesman Richard Meyer in San Francisco said raiding medical marijuana clubs and farms is the DEA's duty. "Our goal is to seize illegal drugs and arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice," he said. On a purely humanitarian level, the federal laws are misguided, responds Judy Appel, a Drug Policy Alliance attorney who helped write the lawsuit. "We cannot just stand by and watch the harassment of people who are sick and dying," she said. "We hope the court will see the injustice and inhumanity of the federal government's actions, and restore these patients' rights to treat their severe pain with the medicine that works best for them." Since the Constitution delegates to the federal government no power to regulate medical practice, such regulation must either default to state authority under the 10th Amendment -- meaning that under our current U.S. Constitution, state law trumps federal law in this regard -- or else medical practice becomes a Ninth Amendment activity not subject to government intervention, at all. Either way, the federal government here is wrong as a matter of constitutional law, as well as by any measure of humanity, common sense and compassion. On all these grounds, the federal courts should now demonstrate the "jealous balance of powers" which the founders promised us would always motivate one branch of the federal government to rein in the excesses of the others, and now firmly instruct the DEA that more compassionate state laws such California's take precedence over any federal pronouncements on this issue. Note: Doctrine of states' rights provides answer.Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Published: Friday, April 25, 2003Copyright: 2003 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Pictures from WAMM Protesthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmMedical Pot Seizures Targeted by Santa Cruz http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16042.shtmlWAMM Lawsuit Seeks To Curb Federal Authority http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16047.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by ekim on April 25, 2003 at 19:34:54 PT hey promoters get a Tour going tofredaplant On all these grounds, the federal courts should now demonstrate the "jealous balance of powers" which the founders promised us would always motivate one branch of the federal government to rein in the excesses of the others, and now firmly instruct the DEA that more compassionate state laws such California's take precedence over any federal pronouncements on this issueOK Las Vegas what are the ODDS on this one. If you can lay odds on the Super Bowl ---------- what are the odds and how do they arrive at the numbers. anyone.I hope that the film is allready in motion to fully bring the WAMM Lawsuit to the great silver screen near you. What is the film fest, Sundance man how long before a Cannabis film gets the nad. Jay and Kevin would be a aset to the Norml board. they make jokes about the wods.Does anyone remember Spitfire Tour of a few years back. Now if Bill Mahar and Jay and Kevin and Woody and many others did the Fredaplant Tour for all those wrongly imprisioned like Todd Mcormick and many many others, thats what we want. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Robbie on April 25, 2003 at 08:15:59 PT D'OH! Sorry, just saw the lower threadGood for Dennis! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Robbie on April 25, 2003 at 08:14:10 PT Judge in Peron case rules out pot found KPFA just reported that the judge in the case of Peron's arrest in Utah said the warrant was improper and the marijuana seized will not be admissible evidence.Not sure of specifics KPFA Berkeley [ Post Comment ] Post Comment