cannabisnews.com: Feds Shouldn’t Go After Patients Who Use Pot 





Feds Shouldn’t Go After Patients Who Use Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on April 28, 2004 at 09:37:36 PT
Editorial
Source: The Monitor 
The jurisdictional struggle over California’s medical marijuana law took a new turn last week when a federal judge offered a patient cooperative protection from raids by armed agents. The U.S. Justice Department, however, quickly moved to eliminate that protection by calling for a U.S. Supreme Court review of the decision.On Wednesday U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel granted a preliminary injunction to the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) and denied an attempt to dismiss a civil case brought by the cooperative to halt federal interference in their operations. This was the Santa Cruz club raided by armed agents at dawn — assault rifles aimed at patients in wheelchairs — in September 2002.
Fogel cited the December 2003 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal in Raich v. Ashcroft, which ruled there is a constitutional limitation to the application of the Controlled Substances Act, the 1970 law that prohibits all use of marijuana. The court ruled that patients who grow their own marijuana or receive it free do not affect interstate commerce, and their activities are not subject to federal regulation. Since 1996, of course, medical use of marijuana has been legal under California law with a doctor’s recommendation. Seven other states — Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Oregon and Nevada — have passed similar voter initiatives, and Hawaii’s legislature enacted a law protecting patients who use marijuana medically from prosecution. Nobody has filed suit to overturn these laws on grounds that federal law takes precedence.On the same day of his ruling, however, the Justice Department asked urgently that the U.S. Supreme Court review Fogel’s decision.Angel Raich, the lead plaintiff in the case, put the matter in a nutshell: “The government doesn’t dispute that I would die without cannabis, but they not only want to keep my medicine from me, they want the right to take me from my children and see me die in prison.” The Supreme Court should let the district court decision stand.Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Feds Shouldn’t Go After Patients Who Use Pot Source: The Monitor (TX)Published: April 28, 2004Copyright: 2004 The MonitorContact: letters themonitor.comWebsite: http://www.themonitor.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Raich vs. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfCultivating Compassion http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18729.shtmlPot Group Basks in Victory, Eyes New Harvesthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18728.shtmlBush Asks Supreme Court To Okay Attacks http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18715.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on April 29, 2004 at 06:43:47 PT
Judge Argues against Charges of Judicial Activism
Canada: Ignorance of the Law 27 Apr 2004 
Ottawa Citizen (CN ON) 
http://www.mapinc.org/ccnews/v04/n643/a08.html'Examples like these have convinced Judge Cole that providing better information to the public about criminal justice is critical. And he doesn't leave the responsibility for that solely with the media. Judges "have to be clearer and simpler in what we write. We have to try to explain ourselves in language that most people can relate to. And we don't. I think, by the way, that judges are really beginning to recognize that."' 
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Comment #9 posted by afterburner on April 29, 2004 at 06:27:15 PT
A Kinder, Gentler New World Order?
Latvia: Cannabis Butter Is a Legal Spread 25 Apr 2004 
Taipei Times, The (Taiwan) 
http://www.mapinc.org/ccnews/v04/n643/a02.htmlMFA for 2004, make your food your medicine!
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Comment #8 posted by ekim on April 28, 2004 at 20:57:37 PT
Virg see this
http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0404280276apr28,1,7235182.story 
NASA battles buzz from disaster movie
http://www.minorml.org
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Comment #7 posted by Virgil on April 28, 2004 at 19:35:31 PT
An omen of things to come
The Supreme Court nullified a California Antismog Rule. Here we have the 9th Circuit ruling being reversed by the Supreme CourtWASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Southern California agency may have gone too far in imposing its own antismog rules for city buses, airport shuttles and other vehicles.Justices, on a 8-1 vote, sided with oil companies and diesel engine manufacturers who claimed that local pollution rules conflict with national standards.The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the tougher local rules, but the decision was voided by the high court. The Supreme Court sent the case back to California to consider the issues.Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said that the emissions rules appear to blocked by the federal Clean Air Act.http://news.findlaw.com/ap_stories/a/w/1154/4-28-2004/20040428083011_098.html
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Comment #6 posted by Jose Melendez on April 28, 2004 at 17:36:11 PT
Truth, justice . . . right. Campaign for peace.
". . . campaign against those who are pro-prohibition."http://65.18.211.65/terror/potusHint.htmlhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n142/a08.html?1121http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0422-07.htm"Within hours of a decision by U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel allowing the Santa Cruz, Ca.-based Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana to resume growing marijuana and distributing it to its patients, Attorney General John Ashcroft took time away from fighting the war on terrorism to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the federal appellate ruling underlying the judge's decision. "http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=16840"So here we are, over 13 months after we last saw General Ashcroft, and we have no schedule for the long overdue appearance by the Attorney General of the United States before the oversight committee of the Senate. Republican Senators may have disagreed with Attorney General Reno's leadership on certain issues, but they cannot say that she did not appear before the Judiciary Committee for hours and hours at a time and listen to our questions and seek to answer the questions of all Senators, Republicans and Democrats. By contrast, the current Attorney General found the time to make a 19-city cross country tour last year in which he appeared before friendly, hand-picked audiences and delivered a series of statements seeking to defend his use of the PATRIOT Act. He finds time to attend virtually every press conference on an indictment or case development in high profile cases. Yet he has not, and apparently will not, appear before the people's elected representatives to answer our questions, hear our concerns and work with us to improve the work of the Department of Justice. "http://www.septembereleventh.org/edmonds/att.html
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Comment #5 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 28, 2004 at 15:48:34 PT
This Is A Big Decision
I'm a little bit worried about the Supreme Court. If they rule against the 9th Circuit, we're done for in the courts. If the Supreme Court refuses to review the case, or affirms the 9th Circuit's decision, I'm curious about what Congress will do next.The only alternative we'll have left, is Congress. Now that, will be a tough nut to crack. I see no other way to change Congress' mind, but to campaign against those who are pro-prohibition. That's about all we'll have left.
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Comment #4 posted by Shishaldin on April 28, 2004 at 15:12:29 PT
Woo-hoo!
Go Connecticut! Vermont is next...
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on April 28, 2004 at 14:46:03 PT
Medical Marijuana Bill Passes House, 75-71
April 28, 2004Hartford, Connecticut: The medical marijuana bill, H.B. 5355, passed the Connecticut House of Representatives today by a vote of 75 to 71.The bipartisan vote capped a string of resounding committee victories amid a rising tide of support for the bill, including over 300 Connecticut physicians and former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, M.D., as well as impassioned testimony from patients and their families."The House has recognized what ordinary people in Connecticut and across the nation have understood for some time: It makes no sense to subject patients battling cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS to arrest and jail for simply trying to relieve some of their suffering," said Neal Levine, director or state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "The experience of the eight states that have medical marijuana laws has shown that these laws work and work well. We look forward to the upcoming debate in the Senate, and hope the Senate will show the same wisdom as the House."H.R. 5355 is similar to laws now effect in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It would permit seriously ill patients who have their doctor's approval to use, possess and grow limited amounts of marijuana to relieve pain, nausea, appetite loss and other symptoms caused by illnesses such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, with no criminal penalties under state law.This is not the first time that Connecticut legislators have addressed the issue of medical marijuana. A 1981 law intended to allow medical use was never implemented because it required a physician's prescription, which is not permitted under federal law. H.B. 5355 solves this problem by making medical use of marijuana legal under state law with a physician's recommendation -- the same approach taken by the other states with effective medical marijuana laws.As Rep. Penny Bacchiochi (R-Somers) noted during debate in the Judiciary Committee, "Our Connecticut legislature did have the intent of allowing medical marijuana usage more than twenty years ago," even though that bill's flawed language prevented the policy from being implemented. Referring to her late husband's struggle with cancer, Bacchiochi said, "I have personally witnessed the devastating affects of terminal disease and the wasting away of life. I can testify to you, under oath in front of this committee or in any court, that medical marijuana does work."With more than 15,000 members and 77,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.mpp.org/
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on April 28, 2004 at 13:09:23 PT
Federal House of Cards Falling Apart
US CA: Marijuana Convict Won't Face Drug Testing 
(27 Apr 2004) Tri-Valley Herald CaliforniaJudge Cites Precedent http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v04/n640/a09.html?397
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 28, 2004 at 10:19:05 PT
Event: Marijuana March Information
Events: New York's Marijuana March is an Annual Rite of SpringBy Sarah FergusonApril 27th, 2004 Though known as a workers' holiday honoring the right to work less, May Day originated as a pagan festival celebrating the first spring planting (and free sex). So what better day to rally to free the herb? Yippie Dana Beal and his crew of hardcore marijuana crusaders began hosting this annual pot parade in 1973. It's since mushroomed into a global happening in more than 160 cities. Don't expect folks to be tossing out bags of free joints as in the heady days of yore; organizers warn that anyone lighting up may be arrested, as were nine last year and some 300 in 2000. "It's a protest, not a pot fest," says Beal. And thanks to a Giuliani-initiated crackdown, pot revelers can no longer gather in Washington Square. But there's still plenty to get fired up about, not least the feds' ongoing assault on medical-marijuana users. The march begins at 1 p.m. on the corner of Houston and Broadway and proceeds down Broadway to Battery Park for a rally featuring Queens Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, Rockefeller drug laws foe Randy Credico, and Shattered Lives author Mikki Norris, plus music by ex-Misfit Bobby Steele, the David Nelson Band, Stir Fried, and special guests. K-Rock's Liquid Todd and Influx from Brazil will be spinning at the north end of the park for those who just want to chill. Cures Not Wars Pot Parade Saturday at 1 p.m. Gather at the corner of Houston Street and Broadway 212.677.7180 http://www.cures-not-wars.org Free 
 http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0417/ferguson.php
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