cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot a Big Winner





Medical Pot a Big Winner
Posted by CN Staff on October 15, 2003 at 07:06:02 PT
By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee 
Deflecting what might have been a lethal blow to state medical marijuana laws, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a seven-year effort by the White House to punish physicians who recommend the drug to their patients under California law.The justices rejected without comment the federal government's appeal of lower court injunctions that have blocked it from threatening doctors with license revocation and other sanctions for advising pot use.
The lower court decisions were based on First Amendment free speech rights rather than a right to get or use marijuana -- issues that remain unresolved as states continue passing medical marijuana laws over the federal government's opposition.Nine states now have laws similar to Proposition 215, California's Compassionate Use Act.The federal-state standoff continues."The cultivation and trafficking of marijuana remains a federal offense," John P. Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in a prepared statement.He reminded public officials and medical professionals of their ongoing duty to "reduce the harms caused by marijuana."Nevertheless, said Graham Boyd, director of the Drug Policy Litigation Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, "the cornerstone of the (federal) government's attack" on California's medical pot law was laid to rest."This is the case that involved whether that law would stand or fall," he said. "If (the Supreme Court) had taken the case and reversed (the lower court rulings), that would have been the end of Proposition 215.""This is winning a case in the Supreme Court," exulted Valerie Corral, one of the six medical marijuana patients who joined a group of physicians as plaintiffs in the ACLU-sponsored case. "It's finally happening."Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/courts_legal/story/7603144p-8544002c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished:  Wednesday, October 15, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Walters vs. Conant, 03-40 - PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfU.S. Appeal Of Marijuana Case Rejected http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17568.shtmlBackers of Medical Marijuana Hail Rulinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17566.shtmlHigh Court Lets Stand Ruling Over Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17565.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 15, 2003 at 07:19:34 PT:
Marijuana is Still Against Federal Law
Then change the Federal Law John P.This is a huge victory for medicinal marijuana.
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Comment #1 posted by WolfgangWylde on October 15, 2003 at 07:16:57 PT
Speaking of Supreme Courts...
...does anybody know when the Canadian Supreme Court is set to rule on cannabis prohibition?
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