cannabisnews.com: Backers of Medical Marijuana Hail Ruling





Backers of Medical Marijuana Hail Ruling
Posted by CN Staff on October 14, 2003 at 21:08:11 PT
By Dean E. Murphy
Source: New York Times 
San Francisco — Ever since voters in California approved a 1996 ballot measure that legalized some medicinal uses of marijuana, the state has been locked in a legal and cultural battle with the federal government.Federal agents have raided farms where medicinal marijuana is grown, closed cooperatives where it is distributed and threatened to punish doctors who discussed it with their patients, all because federal law prohibits distribution or use of marijuana regardless of state law.
Throughout it all, proponents of medicinal marijuana in California and more than a half dozen other states with similar laws have had little to celebrate. But on Tuesday, telephones were ringing and congratulatory e-mail flying as doctors, patients and other advocates of medicinal marijuana rejoiced at a major legal victory that effectively allows doctors to recommend the drug to patients."I was speechless, I was thrilled when I heard the news," said Daniel J. Kane, 43, of Oakland, who first used marijuana for medicinal purposes about 10 years ago when he was suffering from AIDS wasting syndrome. "Even now, I get this sort of tingling in my body thinking about what we have achieved."The highly emotional victory came when the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a federal appeals court ruling last October that the federal government may not revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients. The Bush administration had sought to have the ruling overturned.The ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, came in a lawsuit filed in 1997 by a group of doctors and patients, including Mr. Kane, after the Clinton administration threatened to revoke doctors' licenses in such circumstances. Since Mr. Bush took office in 2001, his administration has pursued the same policy. The California law, known as Proposition 215, says doctors cannot be punished for recommending marijuana for medical purposes. Over the weekend, Gov. Gray Davis signed legislation intended to help carry out the law."I think you will now see more movement in California and other states to make medical marijuana more of a reality," said Daniel N. Abrahamson, director of legal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group, which along with the American Civil Liberties Union represented the doctors and patients in the lawsuit. "I have heard from dozens of patients today who are breathing a huge collective sigh of relief." Nowhere was the excitement greater than in the San Francisco Bay area, where the Drug Policy Alliance estimates the vast majority of medicinal marijuana patients in the state reside — about 10,000 — and where the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Justice Department have concentrated their efforts to stamp out the drug's cultivation and distribution.Marijuana has been particularly popular as a pain reliever and appetite stimulant for people with H.I.V., AIDS and various forms of cancer. It can be administered in a number of ways, from smoking like a cigarette to mixing with tea."It is a real relief," Dr. Milton Estes, the medical director of the Forensic AIDS Project at San Francisco's Department of Public Health, said of the Supreme Court's action. "I can only hope it will send a message to the federal government and the attorney general that every day people with common sense understand that this is not the place for the federal government to be wielding its weight and force against people with chronic diseases."Ed Rosenthal, the celebrity author of marijuana books and advice columns who was convicted in January in federal court of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy, said the federal government had been given "a clear signal to stay out of the state's business." Mr. Rosenthal had been growing marijuana in Oakland for medicinal purposes under the state law."For the first time, many doctors will start writing recommendations for cannabis," Mr. Rosenthal said. "Up until this point, they have been afraid."The reaction among some patients who have used marijuana was deeply emotional. Michael Ferrucci, 51, who runs a music store in Livermore and who has had lung and testicular cancer, credits the drug with saving his life. Nonetheless, he said, it has carried a social and legal stigma that has been difficult to bear at times."I consider this an important step in turning the attitudes of Americans around," Mr. Ferrucci said. "It has been far more beneficial to me than other medications they have recommended to me, including powerful narcotics like morphine, Demoral and codeine."Judith S. Cushner, 58, a preschool director in San Francisco who has had breast and uterine cancer, welcomed the court victory as having "separated the politics from the medicine." But Ms. Cushner said she was saddened by the time it took to resolve the matter in the courts. She said many people who might have benefited from the drug chose not to use it because they feared for their doctors."There are people who would be alive today if they had felt comfortable discussing it with their physicians," Ms. Cushner said. "It took seven years to get this far. Cancer moves a lot faster than that."California's attorney general, Bill Lockyer, said that he hoped the court action Tuesday and the new state legislation would cause the federal government to back off its "overbearing enforcement practices."But Richard Meyer, a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco, said the federal government's basic view of marijuana had not changed."Marijuana is still an illegal drug," Mr. Meyer said. "We will continue doing our job."Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Dean E. MurphyPublished: October 15, 2003Copyright: 2003 The New York Times Co.Contact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Walters vs. Conant, 03-40 - PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfHigh Court Lets Stand Ruling Over Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17565.shtmlSupreme Court Clears Way for Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17564.shtmlJustices Reject Govt. Medical Marijuana Appealhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17560.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by Virgil on October 15, 2003 at 07:27:56 PT
Not exactly, NYT
The California law, known as Proposition 215The media is biased by always reporting the Compassionate Use Act as Proposition 215. Proposition 215 was the ballot iniative and the campaign, but that is not the name of the law. The fourth line in Section 1 says clearly what the name is. It is the third line in what I copied as the lines are different. It says this section of the law shall be known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. We have let the media corrupt the issue by accepting their term and ignoring the proper name.San Francisco — Ever since voters in California approved a 1996 ballot measure that legalized some medicinal uses of marijuana,I also find this somewhat inaccurate as the CUA that legalized all uses of MMJ if it gets a doctors recommendation. Just read the short law and see. From http://www.drugsense.org/CCUA/Compassionate Use Act of 1996  
Proposition 215 
SECTION 1. Section 11362.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: 
11362.5. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. 
(b)(1) The people of the State of California hereby find and declare that the purposes of the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 are as follows: 
(A) To ensure that seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. 
(B) To ensure that patients and their primary caregivers who obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a physician are not subject to criminal prosecution or sanction. 
(C) To encourage the federal and state governments to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana. 
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others, nor to condone the diversion of marijuana for nonmedical purposes. 
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no physician in this state shall be punished, or denied any right or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a patient for medical purposes. 
(d) Section 11357, relating to the possession of marijuana, and Section 11358, relating to the cultivation of marijuana, shall not apply to a patient, or to a patient's primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. 
(e) For the purposes of this section, ''primary caregiver" means the individual designated by the person exempted under this section who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of that person.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this measure or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the measure that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this measure are severable. 
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Comment #5 posted by Treeanna on October 15, 2003 at 06:40:23 PT
LOL!
My God, EJ! That is frigging HILARIOUS!Now I have to hear it in my head all day as we go to court! Will post later with event update :)
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on October 15, 2003 at 00:49:39 PT
The Gags Are Off!
"For the first time, many doctors will start writing recommendations for cannabis," Mr. Rosenthal said. "Up until this point, they have been afraid."Ed said it all. Now that the gags are off, the demonized,stigmatized cannabis plant will finally be seen for what it is. Cannabis will likely soon be the most popular medicine in the U.S. and Canada! Much of the world is recognizing the legitimacy of this plant as medicine. Yes, it now appears that cannabis is certain to be the medicine & material of this young millenium. The people are already fed up with the pharmaceutical companies & will take kindly to simple,cheap,effective cannabis. The wall will crumble very fast now.The way out is the way in...Status of the 9/11 Investigations:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/01/16/200310141135.091828ba.html9/11 Probe Continues To Bypass Executive Branch Testimony:
http://www.tomflocco.com/SECRECY SURROUNDS A BUSH BROTHER'S ROLE IN 9/11 SECURITY: 
http://anderson.ath.cx:8000/911/hj05.html9/11 - The flight path of Flight 77 over Washington:
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/pentagon.htmlWhere Was Warren Buffet On The Morning Of 9/11?
http://rense.com/Killtown.htmThe Sins of 9/11
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/archive/scoop/stories/d3/d4/200310131444.f2f5e377.html
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 14, 2003 at 21:35:51 PT
EJ Can You Hear Me Singing!
When I was setting up this article to post it made me happy. Many times articles I post make me mad and when a good one comes along I'm more then happy to sing along!
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on October 14, 2003 at 21:23:16 PT
Richard Meyer singalong
My baloney has a first nameit's R-I-C-H-ardMy baloney has a last nameit's M-E-Y-E-RThe public snubs him more each dayThe Supreme Court punked him hard todaybecause every word fronm the D-E-Ais B-O-L-O-G-N-A
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 14, 2003 at 21:23:00 PT
Related Article from The New York Times
Hi everyone,I archived this article because only a portion of it is about medical marijuana. Here it is!Justices Say Doctors May Not Be Punished for Recommending Medical Marijuana: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread17567.shtml
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