cannabisnews.com: Major Ruling Favors Medical Marijuana





Major Ruling Favors Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on December 17, 2003 at 07:23:10 PT
By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee 
San Francisco -- The highest court in the West ruled Tuesday that personal cultivation and use of medical marijuana in a state that permits such activities can be outside the control of federal authorities.The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directly affects only Angel Raich of Oakland and Diane Monson of Oroville, who sued to block federal interference with their pot supplies. But its rationale would apply to others who, like Monson, grow their own pot or, like Raich, obtain it free from local grower-caretakers without involving interstate traffickers.
The 9th Circuit said such activity appeared to be neither commercial nor economic and, therefore, probably was outside the legal reach of the federal government, which is empowered to regulate commerce between the states."We find that (Raich's and Monson's) class of activities -- the intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician -- is, in fact, different in kind from drug-trafficking," the court said in directing a lower court to issue a preliminary injunction against federal interference.The federal government had argued in court that interstate commerce would be affected. Calls to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were directed to offices in Washington, D.C., that had closed by the time the decision was released late in the day.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/7967617p-8904647c.htmlSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished:  Wednesday, December 17, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMedical Pot Users Win Key Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17976.shtmlAppeals Court Sets Aside Federal Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17975.shtmlFederal Appeals Court OKs Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17974.shtml
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