cannabisnews.com: Medical Use of Marijuana OK, Appeals Court Rules





Medical Use of Marijuana OK, Appeals Court Rules
Posted by CN Staff on December 18, 2003 at 10:34:05 PT
By Jeff McDonald, Union-Tribune Staff Writer
Source: San Diego Union Tribune 
A federal appeals court handed medical marijuana advocates a major victory yesterday, ruling that the government may not prosecute patients who smoke the drug with their doctor's recommendation in states that allow such marijuana use.In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was unconstitutional to deny marijuana to cancer, AIDS and other patients under the federal Controlled Substances Act if their marijuana is not sold, transported across state lines or used for nonmedicinal purposes.
Thousands of sick and dying people use marijuana to alleviate symptoms of disease or relieve side effects of other medication. Federal law does not recognize any medicinal value in the drug.The court said medical marijuana providers who supply the drug to others are not violating the federal Controlled Substances Act, which classifies marijuana on the same level as heroin, LSD and other drugs."The intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician is, in fact, different from drug trafficking," Judge Harry Pregerson wrote in the majority opinion.According to the court, "This limited use is clearly distinct from the broader, illicit drug market, as well as any broader commercial market for medical marijuana, insofar as the medical marijuana at issue in this case is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce."The ruling was a significant setback to the Justice Department, which has stepped up enforcement of federal drug laws in recent years.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/meduse.htmSource: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)Author: Jeff McDonald, Union-Tribune Staff WriterPublished: December 17, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.Contact: letters uniontrib.comWebsite: http://www.uniontrib.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:CaNORMLhttp://www.canorml.org/Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfAppeals Court OKs Medicinal Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17987.shtmlMarijuana Decision Does Not Sanction Sales http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17986.shtmlLong Battle Over Medical Marijuana Seen Aheadhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17984.shtmlAppeals Court Upholds Medical Marijuana Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17983.shtml
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