cannabisnews.com: New U.S. Action Against Medical Pot New U.S. Action Against Medical Pot Posted by CN Staff on July 12, 2003 at 08:07:25 PT By David Whitney -- Bee Washington Bureau Source: Sacramento Bee Washington -- The Bush administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appellate decision barring federal drug agents from investigating California physicians who recommend that ill patients use marijuana to relieve suffering.If the high court decides this fall to take up this case, it would be the second medical marijuana decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to be reviewed. In the first case two years ago, the justices ruled that there is no exemption from federal drug laws for ill patients using marijuana. The new case focuses on physicians and what they tell their patients about pot use within the confines of the doctor-patient relationship. In a brief filed this week with the high court, Solicitor General Theodore Olson said the 9th Circuit's decision in October protects doctors who urge patients to use illegal drugs.The case grew out of a 1997 class-action lawsuit filed by doctors and patients suffering from AIDS and cancer. They sought to stop the federal government from bringing administration actions against doctors who recommend to ill patients that marijuana might help relieve their suffering.In response to voter initiatives in California and Arizona that decriminalized marijuana use for medical purposes, the Clinton administration drew up a policy that said doctors who recommend the use of marijuana could lose their license to prescribe medications under the Controlled Substances Act.An injunction was issued in 1997 barring the federal government from taking any action against doctors under that policy. The ruling was expanded two years later to permanently bar an investigation of any doctor based on his recommendations of pot use.In upholding the injunction, the 9th Circuit focused on the First Amendment rights of doctors."An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between a doctor and a patient," the 9th Circuit said. "Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients. ... Being a member of a regulated profession does not, as the government suggests, result in a surrender of First Amendment rights."Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/7017331p-7965817c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: David Whitney -- Bee Washington BureauPublished: Saturday, July 12, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Conant vs. Walters & Judge Kozinskihttp://freedomtoexhale.com//cw.htmBush Wants Marijuana Ruling Struck Downhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16834.shtmlBush Escalates Marijuana War http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16827.shtmlBush: Marijuana Laws Up to Stateshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3373.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on July 12, 2003 at 10:50:43 PT: VOTE FOR LIBERTARIAN PARTY OR GREEN PARTY? "Nothing doth more hurt in a state than that cunning men pass for wise." Sir Francis Bacon. When will the majority of Americans wake up and stop voting for the two major parties? When will American people learn from the lessons of history? Why don't Americans see that the Republicans and Democrats have sold us out? When will Americans vote for Libertarian Party or Green Party candidates? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by afterburner on July 12, 2003 at 08:42:40 PT: Am-Bushed! The US federal government sinks to new levels of depravity to protect medical cannabis patients from the "evils" of cannabis. If you can't stop the growers, attack the doctors again. If that doesn't work, next they'll be targeting the patients. This is a medical issue, not a criminal justice issue. Stop trying to prevent the truth from being known about medical cannabis. You're just discrediting your own tenuous hold on federal power.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment