cannabisnews.com: Supreme Court's Marijuana Ruling May Impact Oregon





Supreme Court's Marijuana Ruling May Impact Oregon
Posted by CN Staff on October 15, 2003 at 15:58:01 PT
By Colin Fogarty, OPB News
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting 
Portland, Oregon - Medical marijuana advocates in the Northwest are hailing a decision Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme Court, upholding California's medical pot law. In 1998, voters in Oregon and Washington voted to allow patients suffering from illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS to grow and smoke marijuana.The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a Bush administration appeal from a lower court in San Francisco. The case involved a Bush administration policy saying physicians could lose their federal licenses if they recommend marijuana to their patients.
Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that policy violates the physicians' freedom of speech.The U.S. Supreme Court has now let that ruling stand -- much to the delight of medical marijuana advocates. Paul Stanford:  "We're very happy."Paul Stanford is with the Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp in Portland. Paul Stanford:  "We're relieved on behalf of our physicians and physicians everywhere that they don't have to worry about the DEA suspending their ability to prescribe other drugs."It's not just marijuana advocates who are cheering.Physicians groups took a keen interest in the case because it dealt with the federal government's ability to sway conversations between doctors and patients.Portland attorney Leland Berger, who represents medical marijuana patients says the courts have protected those conversations from federal intervention.  Leland Berger: "If you say this thing, I recommend you use medical marijuana, then we're going to punish you for it, then that has a chilling effect on free speech, especially where it can back that up with, you won't be able to prescribe medication to the rest of your patients."The U.S. Department of Justice declined to respond the decision.The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy issued a written statement saying "It remains the charge of every responsible public official and medical professional to continue to protect the health of American citizens and reduce the harms caused by marijuana and other dependency-producing drugs." In August, federal drug czar John Walters condemned medical marijuana laws during an appearance in Portland. John Walters:  "It's time to stop the con. Those people who have pushed -- quote -- medical marijuana are not concerned about the health and welfare of this community or any other community. They are concerned about legalizing marijuana and -- many of them -- legalizing other illegal drugs.The reaction of Walters' office to the Supreme Court decision pointed out, "The cultivation and trafficking of marijuana remains a federal offense." In fact, this month, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided a medical marijuana stash in Lebanon, Oregon.There are at least two such cases in Oregon.Kevin Neely, a spokesman for Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, notes that the Supreme Court case dealt only with doctors. Kevin Neely: "It has no implications on whether or not the federal law enforcement officials are able to implement the federal law, which does clearly prohibit the use of marijuana."On the face of it, though, the case appears similar to a challenge by the Bush administration to Oregon's physician assisted suicide law.In 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft issued an order barring physicians from prescribing lethal drugs under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. But Portland attorney Eli Stutsman says the two issues are not as closely related as they appear. He's one of the lawyers challenging the Bush administration. Stutsman says the barbiturates used in assisted suicide are legal.  Eli Stutsman: "The medical marijuana cases involved a banned drug. And it's banned as a matter of federal law. And the drugs at issue in Oregon are not banned, they're controlled. And so there's a huge difference between the litigation of banned drugs and controlled drugs."In the meantime, more than 6000 people in Oregon carry medical marijuana ID cards that allow them to grow and smoke pot to treat their illnesses. That figure jumped by about 2000 in the last month, because the state office that administers the program changed the way it prints marijuana cards.They are no longer laminated, so the state can issue hundreds of cards a day, instead of just 30. Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting (OR)Author: Colin FogartyShow: Oregon ConsideredPublished: October 14, 2003Copyright: 2003 Oregon Public BroadcastingWebsite: http://www.opb.orgContact: opbnews opb.orgRelated Articles & Web Sites:CRRHhttp://www.crrh.org/Walters vs. Conant No. 03-40 - PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfTranscripts: Online News Hour with Jim Lehrer http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17576.shtmlJustices: Doctors Can Discuss Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17572.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on October 15, 2003 at 18:45:58 PT
I do not see it that way
Medical marijuana advocates in the Northwest are hailing a decision Tuesday by the U.S. Supreme CourtAs for me, that is what I expect. The fact that the DEA was telling doctors to warp their advice to conform to upside down policy was what was alarming in the first place. Why did it even have to go to appeal. Was it because the DEA shopped it around to a chosen judge to get the ball rolling? Anyone can see on the face of it, the DEA should not be silencing anyone much less doctors.
Voting scandal already happened and American press is silent
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