cannabisnews.com: 9th U.S. Court Protects Pot Patients 9th U.S. Court Protects Pot Patients Posted by CN Staff on December 17, 2003 at 10:21:08 PT By Alison Soltau and J.K. Dineen, Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner San Francisco may be free to grow medical marijuana without recriminations from the Federal Government after an appeals court ruled Tuesday that a law outlawing marijuana may not apply to sick people with a doctor's recommendation in states that have approved medical marijuana laws. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling 2-1, said prosecuting these medical marijuana users under a 1970 federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn't sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes. The decision was a blow to the Justice Department, which argued that medical marijuana laws in nine states, including California, were trumped by the Controlled Substances Act, which outlawed the drug. California has allowed medical marijuana use on patients with a doctor's prescription since 1996. Celebrated marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal, who was convicted of growing medical pot in Oakland, called the decision, "tremendous news for medical marijuana patients all over California." "It says that patients who are not involved in interstate commerce are not subject to the federal law and that they are doing nothing illegal," Rosenthal told The Examiner. "That means patients don't have to worry about the federal government." Rosenthal said the vast majority of medical marijuana dispensed in the Bay Area is locally grown. While medical marijuana advocates in San Francisco continued to defy the federal government and quietly treat illness with cannabis, until now, the specter of a federal raid hung over patients' heads, said Dr. Stephen Ellis. Ellis prescribes cannabis at The City's Medical Marijuana Physician Evaluation Medical Clinic. "This is potentially excellent news. Many patients are stressed about the thought of a federal raid in the back of their minds," he said. Ellis hoped the ruling would mean better quality marijuana and an end to exorbitant black market prices for weed. Peter Keane, dean of law at Golden Gate University, said Tuesday's ruling freed San Francisco to implement Proposition S, the 2002 voter-mandated decision for The City to grow cannabis for the ill. While the federal government can appeal the ruling, Keane said it was firmly rooted in constitutional law and likely to prevail. Tuesday's landmark ruling involved the case of two seriously ill California women who sued Attorney General John Ashcroft. They asked for a court order letting them smoke, grow or obtain marijuana without fear of federal prosecution. A U.S. District judge tossed the case in March, saying the Controlled Substances Act barred him from blocking any potential enforcement action against medical marijuana patients Angel Raich and Diane Monson. Tuesday's ruling sends the case back to the district judge. If the ruling is not successfully appealed, an injunction will be issued protecting Raich and Monson from federal prosecution until a full trial. "A powerful constitutional protection has been brought to bear on the issue of medical marijuana," Keane said of the ruling. "There are rights to privacy of a patient and a right to one's individual autonomy under the 14th amendment." Associated Press contributed to this report. Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: Alison Soltau and J.K. Dineen Of The Examiner StaffPublished: Wednesday, December 17, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfMedicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCourt Exempts Medicinal Pot From Federal Banhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17981.shtmlFeds Ordered To Halt Pot Raidshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17980.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment