cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Case Grows Again Marijuana Case Grows Again Posted by CN Staff on January 24, 2004 at 10:32:31 PT By James Kilpatrick Source: Coshocton Tribune The restless ghost of Roscoe Filburn has returned. A good thing, too. Filburn was the spunky Ohio farmer who challenged the U.S. government in a famous case 60 years ago. Now his case figures in the plea of two seriously ill California women. They have sued for the right to obtain marijuana on a doctor's recommendation. Filburn lost, but the women so far are winning. The plaintiffs are Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson. Two years ago they brought suit against Attorney General John Ashcroft, seeking an injunction to forestall their prosecution under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The act defines marijuana as a Schedule One substance with a "high potential for abuse." Congress has found that marijuana has "a substantial and detrimental effect on the health and general welfare of the American people." Moreover, "it has no currently acceptable medical use." So says Congress. The experience of the two women is to the contrary. Raich suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. She has tried 35 approved medications for relief of seizures and constant pain. None of them has worked, but marijuana has been a godsend. Two friends have grown cannabis for her without charge. They use "only soil, water, nutrients, growing equipment, supplies and lumber originating from or manufactured in California." Monson suffers from severe chronic back pain and recurring muscle spasms. Traditional medications "have utterly failed." Desperate for relief, she began growing marijuana solely for her own use. In August 2002 the sheriff of Butte County, joined by federal agents, raided her home. They seized and destroyed her six plants but have not filed criminal charges against her. In 1996 California adopted its Compassionate Use Act. The law ensures that seriously ill Californians have a right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes on the recommendation of a physician. Coverage is broad. The law applies to cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, "or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief." Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have adopted similar laws on medical use. In U.S. District Court, Judge Martin J. Jenkins denied the two women's petition for a preliminary injunction. They appealed to a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit. Judge Harry Pregerson, joined by Judge Richard A. Paez, came down emphatically on their side. To be sure, Pregerson acknowledged, in at least six cases in recent years the 9th Circuit has supported the government's reliance on the Controlled Substances Act. But the women's case, he noted, is significantly different in kind. Other defendants were charged with involvement in the national traffic in drugs. The women's supposed offense rested in the intrastate, noncommercial cultivation and possession of cannabis for medical purposes. The marijuana at issue in this case "is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce." The case does not raise the same policy concerns that go with the market in illicit drugs. Judge C. Arlen Beam of the 8th Circuit, sitting by designation, dissented. And here we get back to Roscoe Filburn on his small farm in Montgomery County, Ohio, 60 years ago. Filburn had been given a wheat marketing quota based on 11.1 acres. Instead he harvested wheat, entirely for his own family purposes, from 23 acres. None of the wheat was ever in interstate commerce, but a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that Filburn's 239 bushels contributed inexorably to the national aggregate of wheat harvested in 1941. Said Judge Beam: "It is simply impossible to distinguish the relevant conduct surrounding the cultivation and use of the marijuana crop at issue in this case from the cultivation and use of the wheat crop in Filburn." He added, "If Congress cannot reach individual narcotic growers, possessors and users, its overall statutory scheme will be totally undermined." He regretted a result that might seem "unduly harsh" for seriously ill persons, but he could find no distinction as a matter of law. I thought the Supreme Court was wrong -- unanimously wrong -- in ruling against Roscoe Filburn in 1942. I believe Judge Pregerson is right -- clearly right -- in holding that the growing and use of a plant for clearly medical, personal, noncommercial purposes is beyond the reach of Congress under the Commerce Clause. I hope Attorney General Ashcroft will drop the case and let the two plaintiffs go literally to pot. Source: Coshocton Tribune (OH)Author: James KilpatrickPublished: Saturday, January 24, 2004Copyright: 2004 Coshocton TribuneWebsite: http://www.coshoctontribune.com/Contact: http://www.coshoctontribune.com/customerservice/contactus.htmlRelated Articles & Web Site:Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfPot Luck: A Victory for Federalism http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18005.shtmlWhere’s The Compassion?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18003.shtmlFederalism Wins - National Reviewhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18002.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 29, 2004 at 16:48:35 PT Jose I really tried to work with you. I really did. I don't understand. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on January 29, 2004 at 16:40:46 PT overturn Filburn The dissenting judge, this is what he said. This is very instructive in what goes on in the drug world. He said, "even if you're not paying for the marijuana, you're using a crop which could be sold in the marketplace and which is also being used for medical purpose in place of other drugs which would have to be purchased in the marketplace." So in other words, people who use medical marijuana are hurting the profits of the drug companies, and that's what this is all about. If you want to ever learn what goes on in the drug war, follow the money. It's all about the money. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America does not want a drug-free America. It wants an America free of the drugs that are its competition. Liquor and prescription drugs. - Bill Maherfrom: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0401/28/lkl.00.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by yippierevolutionary on January 25, 2004 at 06:38:17 PT DK is playing by their rules DK is not being taken seriously by the media, I doubt he will accept your offer Virgil because he will think it will make them take him less seriously. That would be a mistake he can't compete on their terms, he has to go guerilla. I have never heard him raise the cannabis issue in the debates, except when asked if he ever toked in the CNN youth debate. I will be very discouraged if DK does not get the nomination. It will be back to the same old lesser of two evils. In the Star Trek universe in Starfleet academy they have this simulation that is impossible to beat, and it is suppose to train you to face death. Captain Kirk survived however, by breaking into the computer and changing the parameters of the simulation. DK ALL THE WAY [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Virgil on January 24, 2004 at 19:18:28 PT They reopened the thread at Kerry's forum I blasted him at DU. It all reminds me of the standard line in a western where the bartender would ask "What is your poison" or "Pick your poison." Now it is pick your plutocratic candidate, red or blue.I may have to vote for a Democratic candidate for President to stop the Neo-cons that are Nazis on steroids, but I can vote for a third-party candidate for everything else to show that I vote and I do not support their conspiracy in overthrowing the government of the people to install a government for the few by their representatives.I am going to Kucinich's forum and give them a pitch for bumper stickers that say $4.20 for Dennis and see if they will not change their minimum donation over the Internet from $5 to $4.20. I like DK but some things he needs help with. I mean he does not even have BS that says D K all the way I guess everybody needs help sometime. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 24, 2004 at 18:42:04 PT Portion of New York Times Article Tapes From Vermont TV Show a Howard Dean Rarely Seen on Campaign TrailJanuary 25, 2004As a presidential candidate, however, Dr. Dean has criticized that model as outmoded and little more than "damage control" against the Republicans. But as governor, it worked for him. He balanced the state budget, cut taxes, favored tightening the rules for welfare recipients, won the top rating of the National Rifle Association, opposed methadone clinics, fought the legalization of marijuana (a big issue in Vermont) and was re-elected five times.http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/25/politics/campaign/25TAPE.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 24, 2004 at 16:10:58 PT Newsweek Political Poll http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4050095 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by cloud7 on January 24, 2004 at 13:52:35 PT 2 more drug war threads on the Kerry forums http://forum.johnkerry.com//index.php?showtopic=1367&hl=http://forum.johnkerry.com//index.php?showtopic=1339&hl= [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 24, 2004 at 13:13:09 PT Virgil I read they were going to lock it. I don't post on boards other then here and one that is not related to our issue. Does Dennis allow different posts on his message boards or is it moderated too? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on January 24, 2004 at 12:52:43 PT They locked the thread at Kerry's website People were attacking Kerry's position on the WOD, that I translate into imposed civil war for Colombia. They locked the thread. Kerry is just another drug warrior. It looks to me like they all are except Kucinich. I favor Dean over Kerry as he has not been in Warshington actively supporting the failure of the WOD. What we get from Kerry is the hammered out boilerplate meant to bring silence. This does not have anything to do with cannabis, but Kerry, Lieberman, and Edwards did not vote in the omnibus bill that the lobbyist and White House bloated with $377 billion and changed the 60 year-old laws on overtime. That bill passed the Senate Thursday 48-45. These three could have inspired the other Democrats to vote and this bill would have been rejected. I guess I claim relevance as this is info in support of Kucinich and Kucinich is highly relevant to our current situation. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on January 24, 2004 at 11:10:23 PT James Kilpatrick From http://www.conservativechronicle.com/columnists/kilpatrick.htm- James J. Kilpatrick is the most widely syndicated and respected political columnist in the country. His column, "Covering the Courts," appears in more than 500 newspapers. Most of Kilpatrick's columns now deal with the U.S. Supreme Court.US border guards blow up Canadians's bong- The crossing, including North Portal, Sask. on the Canadian side, was evacuated for more than five hours. Bomb squad officials used a robotic device to remove the item, described as a pipe. It was detonated and found to be harmless. http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2004/01/24/323478.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment