cannabisnews.com: CA Rejects Subpoena for Medical Marijuana Records










  CA Rejects Subpoena for Medical Marijuana Records

Posted by CN Staff on April 02, 2004 at 10:31:54 PT
By MetNews Staff Writer 
Source: Metropolitan News-Enterprise  

The Medical Board of California must present more than “speculations, unsupported suspicions, and conclusory statements” to justify subpoenaing patient records from a doctor suspected of indiscriminately prescribing marijuana, this district’s Court of Appeal ruled yesterday.Justice Laurence D. Rubin of Div. Eight said Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs erred in ordering Dr. David Louis Bearman to comply with an administrative subpoena seeking records of his treatment of a patient identified by the court only as “Nathan.”
The board sought the records after park rangers found marijuana and smoking pipes in Nathan’s possession at the Lake Piru Recreation Area. Nathan presented Bearman’s letter stating he was medically certified to use marijuana to control his migraine headaches.The rangers did not arrest him, but forwarded a copy of the letter to the Medical Board with a request for “appropriate action.” The board at first sought the records from Nathan, but he declined to provide them.When Bearman also declined, citing Nathan’s confidentiality rights, the board petitioned Janavs for an order compelling compliance.While a declaration submitted by the board’s consultant described the information provided by the rangers as “a complaint—indicating that—Bearman—potentially prescribed the medical usage of marijuana—as a legal remedy rather than a medical necessity,” it included “no facts even suggesting Dr. Bearman was negligent in Nathans’ treatment,” Rubin declared.“When the Medical Board seeks judicial enforcement of a subpoena for a physician’s medical records, it cannot delve into an area of reasonably expected privacy simply because it wants assurance the law is not violated or a doctor is not negligent in treatment of his or her patient,” the justice explained.Rubin rejected the board’s contention that it had good cause to seek the records since Bearman indicated he was prescribing the drug for attention deficit disorder as well as for headaches. ADD is not among the illnesses listed in the medical marijuana statute, Health and Safety Code Sec. 11362.5.Though the doctor’s letter said Nathan had told him marijuana relieved his ADD symptoms, it did not indicate the drug was being prescribed for that reason, Rubin said. Nor, he explained, is the list of illnesses for which marijuana may be prescribed contained in Sec. 11362.5 intended to be exhaustive.The subpoena was also too broad, since it requested all of Nathan’s records, not just those relating to the migraine headaches for which the drug was prescribed, Rubin said.The justice also rejected the board’s argument that by showing the letter to the rangers, Nathan waived his right to privacy.He wrote:“We would be defeating the voters’ intent behind section 11362.5 if we were to adopt the Medical Board’s position that a person automatically waives the right of privacy in their medical records by virtue of showing a peace officer a physician’s written recommendation for the medicinal use of marijuana. By passing this law, the voters intended to facilitate the medical use of marijuana for the seriously ill. This purpose would no doubt be defeated if, as a condition of exercising the right granted by section 11362.5, a person waived his or her right of privacy simply by producing a physician’s written recommendation.”The case is Bearman v. Superior Court (Joseph), B169276.Source: Metropolitan News-Enterprise (CA)Published: Friday, April 2, 2004Copyright: 2004 Metropolitan News CompanyWebsite: http://www.metnews.com/Contact: http://www.metnews.com/lettertoeditor.htmMedicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #11 posted by jose melendez on April 03, 2004 at 16:19:34 PT
be careful what you ask for . . .
Luke 22 47   And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. 48   But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? 49   When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? 50   And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. 51   And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.
 
 
  
http://bible.gospelcom.net
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 02, 2004 at 20:16:23 PT

ekim
This appears to be the laws in Alabama. If it was over 2.2 pounds it becomes very serious. He had a couple of burglary convictions and served time so that might have made it a stiffer sentence.More than 2.2 lbs -- felony -- 1 - 10 years -- $5,000 http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4521
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #9 posted by ekim on April 02, 2004 at 20:07:33 PT

WWJD
does anyone know the story about Jesus when {Paul} cutting off a mans ear for aproching Jesus. Jesus took the ear and reattached it, saying not to hurt anyone to try to protect me. Where oh where are the kind Jesus among us.
http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/108046895690430.xml?birminghamnews?nmet
The case is so old no one from the DA's office or the clerk's office could find out how much marijuana was involved. Gray says it was a pound. The indictment indicates it had to be at least 2.2 pounds to qualify for a "trafficking" charge, which does not mean he sold any but that he had more than what is considered "personal use" by Alabama's marijuana laws, some of the country's strictest. The state has spent $150,000 to keep Gray locked up. So far. Gray lives in St. Clair prison's medical dorm because a train accident took his right leg years ago. He relies on wooden crutches to get around. The prosthetic leg made in the prison is too painful to wear. Before he was in prison, a specialist fitted Gray with prosthetic legs so comfortable Gray could scramble across roofs. 
http://www.mmdetroit.org
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #8 posted by mayan on April 02, 2004 at 18:21:16 PT

"Appropriate Action"
"The rangers did not arrest him, but forwarded a copy of the letter to the Medical Board with a request for “appropriate action.” The board at first sought the records from Nathan, but he declined to provide them.""Nathan" is lucky he had that letter on him! Otherwise he may have been caged,fined or both. "Appropriate Action"??? I guess that means harrassing the sick.The way out is the way in...'I saw papers that show US knew al-Qa'ida would attack cities with aeroplanes' - Whistleblower the White House wants to silence speaks to The Independent:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=507514A conspiracy theorist's proof:
http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/040104Trueblood/040104trueblood.htmlWhite House Withholds Clinton-Era Papers From 9/11 Commission:
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=8A8E1913-CB40-4A4A-8D75CAD9A265E2749/11 Widow Ellen Mariani Asks Her Fellow Americans For Help:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=175&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by afterburner on April 02, 2004 at 16:37:19 PT:

What will legalization look like? 
What will legalization look like? by Reverend Damuzi (02 Apr, 2004) Professors, politicians, activists and law experts gather for historic conferenceMillions have campaigned for legalization in some way or another, even if just by walking in a protest march. But what will legalization be like when it finally happens? With all the work done to end prohibition, many of us haven't spent much time considering what utopian benefits might accrue from the drug war's demise. F U L L S T O R Y http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3397.html 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #6 posted by FoM on April 02, 2004 at 16:20:50 PT

MPP: Kampia Testifies Before House Subcommittee
MPP's Rob Kampia Testifies Before House Subcommittee
  
On April 2, 2004, MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia testified before the the U.S. House Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, at a hearing about "Marijuana and Medicine: The Need for a Science-Based Approach." Testimony:Download Kampia's full written testimony here: http://www.mpp.org/pdf/rk_040104.pdfVideo: (The video quality is poor; unfortunately, the online video broadcast of the hearing was flawed. We apologize for the inconvenience and are working on obtaining better quality footage. )Please visit: http://www.mpp.org/hearing to watch a video of Kampia's oral testimony or to read his written testimony.

[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 02, 2004 at 14:48:30 PT

billos
I checked out the Birmingham News and found this article. I hope the link works for you. http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/108046895690430.xml?birminghamnews?nmet
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on April 02, 2004 at 14:47:49 PT

"Any other illness"
The text of Health and Safety Code Sec. 11362.5 reads, in part:...or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief. ADD is a disorder, which is another word for disease, which itself is another word for illness.Why then did the writer write this?:
Rubin rejected the board’s contention that it had good cause to seek the records since Bearman indicated he was prescribing the drug for attention deficit disorder as well as for headaches. ADD is not among the illnesses listed in the medical marijuana statute, Health and Safety Code Sec. 11362.5.Can the "reporter" not do a simple search to find out if what the prohibitionist said is true? Why isn't this "reporter" doing anything to verify facts and the veracity of officials' positions? Why do they lay back like that and let blatant misrepresentations live in print without thinking to verify them? They are a big part of the problem when they do this!

[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #3 posted by billos on April 02, 2004 at 14:33:44 PT:

Has anyone heard..................................
about the Vietnam vet in Alabama that has just been sentenced to life without parole for buying a pound of pot??? He's 49 y.o. with a family.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on April 02, 2004 at 12:05:29 PT

Americans prefer fantasy
Even our reality shows are fake, dude.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #1 posted by Virgil on April 02, 2004 at 10:51:43 PT

Raving lunatics
Do they think everyone is to bend to support their prohibition? "Help us with our prohibition somebody. Our prohibition will be lost if people insist on what is right instead of supporting prohibition." They had to abandon the truth in their application for health and that makes them look bad before everybody. It is passed the time to stop playing fantasyland and start with reality.
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment