cannabisnews.com: Federal Court Hears Pot Cases Federal Court Hears Pot Cases Posted by CN Staff on October 08, 2003 at 08:14:37 PT By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer Source: Sacramento Bee San Francisco -- A federal appeals court took up two more medical marijuana cases Tuesday as it prepared to issue a series of critical decisions on the future of California's pot initiative in the face of federal attempts to squelch it.The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel did not commit itself one way or the other on the cutting-edge states' rights and patients' rights issues. But in a narrower case heard Tuesday, the judges appeared receptive to arguments from the plaintiff, Dr. Molly Fry of Cool. Fry is suing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to reinstate her federal certificate to prescribe drugs. It was revoked last December for prescribing pot.The DEA claimed Fry had waived her defense by not responding to an order to show cause why her registration shouldn't be lifted. Fry said her lawyer at the time, J. David Nick, was supposed to apply for a hearing."This person was a victim of her attorney," Fry's current lawyer, Laurence Lichter, told the 9th Circuit.Mark Quinlivan, a U.S. Department of Justice lawyer representing the DEA, countered that the revocation decision was final and couldn't be reopened. He said the agency found no evidence that Nick had applied for a hearing.But Judge Harry Pregerson of Woodland Hills said, "It seems to me like she's got a valid excuse here." And he asked Quinlivan: "What's the big deal to having a hearing?"Judge Richard Paez of Pasadena observed that the DEA could reopen Fry's case for good cause, and the third member of the 9th Circuit panel, C. Arlen Beam, a visiting 8th Circuit judge, said the case could be sent to the DEA with instructions to work it out.The judges seemed more skeptical of the plaintiffs' claims in a second case, one with broad implications for the state's 1996 medical marijuana initiative.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/7560315p-8501632c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished: Wednesday, October 8, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Americans for Safe Accesshttp://safeaccessnow.org Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmU.S. Judge Rules Against Medical Pot Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15690.shtmlJudge Says Woman Not Immune from Prosecution http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15688.shtmlMedical Pot on The Meeting Menuhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13043.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Jose Melendez on October 08, 2003 at 09:01:24 PT recall THIS! from:http://www2.ocregister.com(Snipped) . . . A few days before the vote, White House "drug czar" John Walters harrumphed that "the real issue is, should we legalize marijuana? Let's have a national debate about that." A couple of days later, Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington faxed Mr. Walters a letter offering to debate him "anywhere, anytime." Mr. Walters has not responded. Does he really want a debate? In fact, if Mr. Walters is sincere, it would be a welcome departure from his own previous position and that of other drug czars and the federal drug-policy establishment, which have consistenty refused to engage in such a debate. Perhaps the time has arrived.see also:http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1537/a02.html?397 [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Treeanna on October 08, 2003 at 08:54:42 PT wow Gotta love the completely opposite (and negative) spin put on this story compared tot eh one by the SF papers! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment