cannabisnews.com: Review of Pot Club Cases Ordered Review of Pot Club Cases Ordered Posted by CN Staff on June 20, 2004 at 08:18:36 PT By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle A federal appeals court gave some encouragement Friday to Northern California medical marijuana clubs in their effort to fend off federal enforcement, saying the clubs' cases may be affected by a recent ruling protecting patients from prosecution under federal drug laws. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered federal judges to reconsider their decisions against four medical marijuana dispensaries - in Oakland, Santa Cruz, Fairfax and Ukiah - in light of the court's ruling in December. The ruling, the appeals court said, "may control the outcome" of each case. That ruling said federal drug laws do not apply to patients who obtain marijuana for medical purposes from within the state, without a commercial transaction, under California's 1996 initiative that legalized medical use of the drug to relieve pain and the side effects of therapies for AIDS and cancer. The court said the federal ban on marijuana applied only to acts that affect interstate commerce. The Bush administration has appealed the December ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that any use or distribution of marijuana - which has no recognized medical purpose under federal law - affects interstate commerce, which Congress is constitutionally authorized to regulate. The high court is scheduled to announce late this month whether it will grant review or let the ruling stand. The appeals court's orders Friday specified that judges should reconsider the clubs' cases only after the Supreme Court has acted. Snipped: Complete Article: http://freedomtoexhale.com/wamm.htm Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Published: Saturday, June 19, 2004 - Page B - 3 Copyright: 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Raich vs. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfPictures From WAMM Protesthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmCultivating 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 Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #24 posted by Virgil on June 21, 2004 at 16:55:25 PT comment16 You never miss what you never had. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by Agog on June 21, 2004 at 13:08:19 PT CE - "conservative" arguments Perhaps the self appointed conservatives that really only support the constitution when it appeals to them would use such an argument.. but that is really another argument. Regarding patients: Why were they fine? Well, they weren't, they were still "patients" but if they were breaking no laws, there would be no need to fight them.As EJ said, advances in medical science have made medical cannabis much more important. For example, the newer generations of protease inhibitors that HIV+ people use are metabolized similarly to cannabis, HIV+ med users were not only not harmed by cannabis use, but in many cases were demonstrably helped by it. Only in the last 20 some years have the anti cancer properties been identified.People probably found relief through cannabis for many ailments...but I think it wasn't very widely used in this country, even though in our early pharmocopia. Alcohol prohibition died, bureaucrats of the time needed to justify their existence and this provided a good new "evil" to fight. Largely peaceful people, many of foreign origin (name your flavor/color), subversive artists etc. etc. The perfect readymade scapegoat, just add some additional special interest$$$$$ into the mix, and voila! It was always a prohibition grounded in politics not science.All The BestAgog [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by E_Johnson on June 21, 2004 at 11:55:40 PT Or they quit chemo and let the cancer kill them Even now, with so many pharmaceutical drugs around that try to treat the problems, about half the women who start breast cancer chemotherapy choose to discontinue it because they cannot tolerate the terrible side effects.They do this quietly. the news media doesn't print a front page story whenever this happens.You are never going to see in the news headlines:SCHOOLTEACHER LEAVES HOSPITAL AND GOES HOME TO DIE BECAUSE SHE CAN'T TOLERATE CHEMO AND CAN'T GET ANY POTThese people are not news until some researcher decides to study them all in a group and issue a press release alerting the media as to the general conclusions. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by BigDawg on June 21, 2004 at 10:15:58 PT Patients were NOT fine before MMJ laws They simply died in pain.Or quietly used MJ hoping not to die in prison. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by kaptinemo on June 21, 2004 at 07:56:09 PT: And that, "?", the reason for my use of the The cornerstone is the foundation stone of any building. If it is inherently flawed, the building is in danger of collapse. As is the 'cornerstone' of the entire legal edifice of drug prohibition. It's the same kind of legal chicanery used to grant corporations the rights of human beings. A mistake that has been allowed to stand for far too long, allowing layer upon layer of bad laws to be papier mache'ed onto the body politic and society in general. Striking at the flaws inherent in the 'cornerstone' of drug prohibition *could* cause the entire structure to be weakened, if not destroyed. Because the very premise of *intra*State as opposed to *inter*State commerce has not been addressed up to now, this huge flaw in the 'cornerstone' has been neglected by our opposition; they thought we could never strike back at the very heart of their DrugWar fortress, so they never strengthened it.For our Tolkien afficianados, it's the Crack at Mt. Doom. Time to send their legislative (and equally accursed) version of their Ring back where it belongs. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by dididadadidit on June 21, 2004 at 07:24:05 PT 9th Circuit and Commerce Clause Altho the 9th circuit decision striking down the feds commerce clause excuse for busting MMJ folks was narrowly drawn as applicable to only MMJ in states (in their district) that have legalized MMJ, this decision could pave the way for recreational arguments along the same line.If one is growing for their own consumption with no crossing of state lines and money not exchanging hands, what possible business of the feds can this be? The state could still run on highhanded stupidity and lock up as many as they can, but the feds oughtta be cut out of the loop.Cheers? [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on June 21, 2004 at 05:54:24 PT: The cornerstone of drug prohibition has always been the INTERSTATE Commerce Clause...and the Constitutionally shady way it was manipulated.But the Feds have heretofore never had to face the obvious question: what about cannabis consumed wholly *within* the boundaries of the State in which it was *legally* produced in accordance with State law?The judge's injunction threatens a lot more than just local DrugWarrior's paychecks. Because, now, if the Feds try to claim that the "threat" of cannabis exportation to States outside the 9th's purview warrants the maintenance of prohibition, then they must prove first and foremost exactly WHAT threat cannabis poses to the citizenry. As all who read here well know, the science doesn't support their claims.A major gauntlet has been thrown down in front of the Feds. Every way they turn, they are having doors slammed in their faces. Avenues of escape via legal chicanery are being closed off, and they will eventually be forced into the confrontation they have been assiduously avoiding like The Plague for years. Namely, a court battle in a legally binding arena, in which the truth will finally be aired, and the histrionics and hysteria publicly exposed.If this makes it to Court TV, then I'd recommend laying in a stock of popcorn and other munchables. And lots of medication, as the lies the opposition will tell will be enough to make anyone with a conscience gag. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by E_Johnson on June 21, 2004 at 00:11:15 PT Cannabis enthusiast People didn't "whine" as you put it so kindly about needing medical marijuana before largely for three reasons:1. The marijuana lws have never been enforced as stringently anywhere ot anywhen in history as they have been in the last ten years in America.2. The advances in cancer treatment of the last thirty years have extended life but also introduced new classes of suffering people into the population -- people suffering from the side effects of cancer treatment. 3. Similarly, the advances in HIV treatment over the last 15 years have extended life but created large new classes of suffering people -- people suffering from the side effects of HIV treatment.This is why people today "whine" as you so kindly put it.Marijuana was commonly used as a medicine for most of human history and there has never before been a need to "whine" about it until modern Americans in the last 20 years got so darned hooked on marijuana prohibition.The people in Israel who used marijuana as a medicine at the time of Christ had no need to "whine" about the medical marijuana laws because marijuana prohibition was unheard of during that time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by cannabis enthusiast on June 21, 2004 at 00:00:19 PT you're missing my point why were patients fine before there were mmj laws?it seems only recently that patients are whining about getting mmj. why do i see no accounts of people needing mj in most of the 20th century? [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on June 20, 2004 at 21:23:32 PT BGreen I'm glad you liked what I said. I don't work hard outside much anymore but I did today. Got a really good sunburn too. I trimmed a shrub today and cleared around a Hasta (sp) I have that was getting cramped. If Cannabis was legal it would be a pretty ornamental shrub like plant too I think. Green Acres! I loved that show! Green Acres is the place to be!Farm living is the life for me! [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by BGreen on June 20, 2004 at 21:03:36 PT FoM, we're a great team of good people Do you ever look around and think about how much cannabis you could produce on your farm if the plant was freed?I have a single acre of land, but I have 40+ trees over part of it shading the house and still have enough bare land to supply the medicine for many, many sick people.It's just a lawn for now. Just wasted land that needs mowing. The copters fly over every year in their insane war against the plant that can save the planet.Now, if I can be a little less serious, I had this vision of Lisa Douglas from Green Acres when I read your post. LOLTake care!The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on June 20, 2004 at 20:06:31 PT Just a Comment Today I spent the day mowing but not grass but fields on our 1939 tractor. The fields were left go too long and the job was challenging for our old tired tractor. As I was mowing and the tractor was sounding like it was going to stall I would hope it wouldn't and it didn't. It just kept on trying. The birds were flying all around and enjoying the bugs or seeds that the tractor stirred up and I started thinking we are like our little tractor. We try and we try and we almost stall but we don't. That little tractor made the birds very happy today. We are making people happy by speaking up and not stalling in our goals. This year from very soon on until elections will be a time we won't ever forget. We see oppression, fear and a cry for liberty for the people. I don't know what will happen but I do know it will be very interesting. This is the calm before the storm. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2004 at 18:04:25 PT Kerry is the poor relation Indeed, the lives of both candidates, in broad strokes, paint a classic portrait of American privilege. "These people are definitely in the American hereditary upper class," said Gary Boyd Roberts, a Boston genealogist who has traced Bush's and Kerry's lineages and discovered they are distantly related. (Branches of their family trees cross eight times, said Roberts; at the closest point, they are ninth cousins). They are also descended from medieval kings.How has privilege played out in their lives? Very differently, as it turns out.Bush, a true social and political aristocrat, has spent much of his life publicly distancing himself from his patrician roots, while quietly availing himself of family connections. "Privilege completely and utterly defines George Bush," said his biographer, Texas journalist Bill Minutaglio. "I don't think it's pejorative to point that out."Kerry, whose family glory lies in an illustrious and historic past, has worked energetically to secure his place in the upper reaches of American society, and twice married heiresses. "His parents came from modest wealth," said his biographer, historian Douglas Brinkley. "He was always a little cash-poor for the milieu he was running around in. He's like the F. Scott Fitzgerald figure looking into that world with one foot in and one foot out."http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-privilege20jun20,1,3611733.story?coll=la-home-headlines [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2004 at 18:02:24 PT Bush and Kerry are related Just like pedigfreed dogs, the rich are mostly related to each other. According to a genealogist interviewed by the LA Times, Bush and Kerry are ninth cousins. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Virgil on June 20, 2004 at 17:54:17 PT He inhaled He was lying. Everyone knows he was lying and he gave a political response. It is like my family motto- Admit nothing, deny everything, and demand proof and then make counter allegations.Free Republic used to put pictures up of Clinton at his governor's chair with his nose bright red from cocaine. Clinton was slick and I am suprised with Paula Jones he did not say "I screwed her, but did not come." Anyway, he was lying and everyone knows it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on June 20, 2004 at 17:42:46 PT Clinton On 60 Minutes Clinton said he couldn't inhale but he tried. How could someone who was President of the USA not know how a person inhales? I'm getting seriously concerned if that is true. Anyone knows all you do is breathe in! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Virgil on June 20, 2004 at 17:22:54 PT CE- my response One of us has read millions of words on cannabis and one is ignorant. Now I can tell you that cannabis can do things that modern pharmaacuticals cannot do. It is an interesting subject and if you say it has no medicial value it comes from a place of extreme ignorance. When you have enough curiosity to search out the truth the Internet is thare. I am not going to argue with such an absurd position as yours and I am not going to try to fill in the blanks of all your ignorance. Believe whatever you want, but do not waste my time with your ignorance and laziness. Reason will prevail without you and there have been legal cannabis extracts on the markets for years with Bayer handling the launch of cannabis extracts in Europe. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by OverwhelmSam on June 20, 2004 at 16:52:11 PT Cannabis Enthusiast There is no myth to the fact that we want marijuana legalized, the myth is that we are using the medical marijuana issue to do it. We are overtly for marijuana legalization, we intend to challenge the government and wear them down until it's legalized, and we have never kept this a secret.Medical marijuana legalization may be a priority and concern within the marijuana legalization community, for obvious reasons - to help alleviate the pain and suffering of those with certain illness and conditions. We are after all a compassionate people. But to say we are using it as a covert method toward legalization is a farce drummed up by our own ONDCP! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on June 20, 2004 at 15:21:44 PT Semi-off-topic: Here's an interesting new book http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/06/18/109.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Cannabis Enthusiast on June 20, 2004 at 13:34:38 PT Medical marijuana is a myth (I'm just trying to start a little discussion here from a conservative point of view)If people didn't [legally] use marijuana as medicine in the U.S. for most of the entire 20th century, then how did people survive without it?I don't hear any stories of people dying or suffering because they couldn't have their marijuana before there were MMJ laws.I say MMJ is a myth created by extreme leftists to legalize drugs.(note: Im just stating a conservative viewpoint for the sake of discussion here) [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on June 20, 2004 at 13:16:32 PT: MEDICAL HYPOCRISY They put mercury in vaccines, causing U.S. Rep. Weldon to recently submit a Congressional Bill to bar mercury from vaccines. They put monkey virus in polio vaccines and administered same to Baby Boomers, causing many many casualties. They purposely spray junk into the air, causing an increasing frequency of respiratory disease, www.bariumblues.com. THEY are the same people causing the wars! THEY launder $600 Billion per year of drug money thru Wall Street, www.fromthewilderness.com, while Americans are targeted for criminal prosecution for relatively small amounts of drugs, an awful hypocrisy!!!Please consider sending Dr. Rath a letter in support of his COMPLAINT OF GENOCIDE AGAINST THE PHARMACEUTICAL CARTEL, www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/The_Hague/complaint/; www.gulfwarillnesses.com/news/RATH.html; contact dr-rath-foundation.org? I have already sent him my supporting letter! What about you people?Richard Paul Zuckerman, Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, (Cell telephone number)(908) 403-6990, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mamawillie on June 20, 2004 at 12:43:20 PT The diamond is ready Someone needs to tell Jeremy Albright, 29, Calgary Board of Education employee, that the piece of coal he stuck up his a*s is probably now ready. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Kegan on June 20, 2004 at 10:53:16 PT News Item From Calgary Should Pot be Legal? Sunday, June 20, 2004This writer agrees with a Fraser Institute report calling for marijuana to be legalized and taxedSteven Martinovich For the Calgary HeraldThere's an old saying that some of what a conservative believes today was fought for by liberals 20 years ago. That could explain a report released June 9 by the Fraser Institute. The solidly conservative think-tank declared that marijuana should be legalized and taxed by the federal government. The report's conservative estimate is that the government could realize $2 billion in new revenue.Not surprisingly, police associations dismissed the report. Paul Shrive, the head of the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police, argued that taxing marijuana would see the government making money off those who were addicted -- forgetting perhaps about the windfall alcohol and tobacco provide provincial and federal coffers. Shrive also stated that in his years of policing he'd never seen someone who was addicted to "extreme" drugs who didn't start out with marijuana.At the risk of being facetious, milk is probably the ultimate gateway drug.Correlation does not equal causation.Police officers are understandably leery about legalization, citing a lack of proper training and tools to deal with a liberalizing of drug laws, but it's a move whose time has come. Although police are justifiably concerned about an increased workload and the fact that liberalization could aid criminal elements, the war on marijuana is a giant drain on resources that has remarkably few successes to show for it.About $400 million a year is spent on arresting, prosecuting and jailing drug criminals in Canada, an investment that has resulted in more than 600,000 Canadians with a criminal record for marijuana possession. According to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2,000 Canadians go to jail every year for marijuana possession, at a cost to the taxpayer of $150 a day to house each of them. If the intent of the war on marijuana is to dissuade people from using it, it's a failure, as well. In a recent Toronto study, 92 per cent of those found guilty of possession were still using the drug a year later.The prohibition against marijuana is as much a moral crusade as it is a health campaign. That will cause many to see any liberalization as a loss for decent society. It's really about realizing that millions of adult Canadians want to use marijuana and are willing to break the law to do so. We can keep punishing them and branding them for life or we can admit that society is changing and that marijuana isn't the danger that its critics have claimed it is. Marijuana may cause some health problems with chronic use. But the greater danger is fighting a war against Canadians and any government that crusades against its own citizens eventually loses.A look at the raw numbers certainly proves that. As Steve Easton pointed out in his report, there are 17,500 marijuana grows in British Columbia alone. Only about 13 per cent of offenders in that province are actually charged -- the number rises to 60 per cent when the rest of Canada is included -- and of those, 55 per cent receive no jail time. On the consumption side, 23 per cent of Canadians have admitted to using marijuana some time, while 7.5 per cent are using it currently, or about 1.87 million people.Of course, fiscal conservatives should be wary about giving government yet another revenue stream, given that alcohol and tobacco taxes haven't exactly stopped any level of government from running deficits. That shouldn't stop us, however, from realizing we are behind the times on this issue. The war on marijuana has been a drain on society that has only resulted in wholesale flouting of the law at the cost of billions of dollars. Legalizing marijuana and taxing it not only turns the flow of money the other way, it recognizes reality.Steven Martinovich is a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario.Contact: letters theherald.canwest.comJune 20, 2004Legal pot: the view on the streetCalgary HeraldQ. Do you think marijuana should be legalized and taxed?Dean Ropchan, 24, musician."Definitely. I don't think anyone who smokes marijuana should be a criminal. I don't believe in decriminalization. I think legalization is a way to control a substance than push a substance into the alleys."Sarah Fulton, 21, student."I think it is a good idea, but obviously there a lot of things to do first like in terms of where would they sell it and to whom and would you need a prescription."Peter Bright, 37, project manager."I think they should capture the revenues coming out of B.C. It is a couple billion dollar industry, so if you can make half a billion, why not?"Dan Green, 40, commercial property manager."I think it is a great idea. It seems to work OK in Europe and I think it works to prevent crime, to prevent people from going to stronger drugs; tax it -- I think that is a great idea."Leslie Stark, 37, physician from Denver, Colo."I think it is a reasonable idea and I really think the criminalization of it is sort of a waste of resources in terms of law enforcement, etc."Cynthia Moore, 43, investment broker."I don't think people who are casual users should necessarily have a criminal record, but I am not really in favour of complete legalization either because I don't use drugs, but I have sympathy for those who need it for medical reasons."Jeremy Albright, 29, Calgary Board of Education employee."I just don't think marijuana should be legalized; that's the bottom line. It is a narcotic and I don't approve of any drug use in any shape or form."Lois Bruiners, 71, retired."If it is illegal already, I am against it, but I don't know if it would be better if it was legalized, except maybe for medical purposes, but I think it has gotten out of hand."Rick Kowalchuk, 48, systems analyst."I would rather not see it done. I think it sends the wrong message and I think it's still a dangerous drug and it should be kept illegal."Patrick Vezina, 27, artist's assistant."I am stuck 50/50 on it. It's another vice that society can use and make money off of people's weaknesses, but at the same time it is a very good drug, helping people who are sick with chronic disease and it is a good form of pain relief."Contact: letters theherald.canwest.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 20, 2004 at 08:24:06 PT Happy Father's Day! I hope everyone is having a nice day! The news is slow but soon it will be busy. I'm catching up on mowing and enjoying the nice weather and I hope you all are too. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment