cannabisnews.com: Protecting Patients' Rights





Protecting Patients' Rights
Posted by CN Staff on June 30, 2004 at 08:04:17 PT
By Baylen J. Linnekin, AlterNet
Source: AlterNet
Should sick and dying patients who are acting within the laws of their state have to live in constant fear that armed Drug Enforcement Administration agents will break down their doors, steal their medicine, and subject them to arrest and intimidation?The U.S. Supreme Court decided Monday to take up that question – one that affects the life, liberty, and medical privacy of thousands of patients – in Raich v. Ashcroft. The landmark medical-marijuana case will go a long way to deciding whether a federal government created to defend individual rights may continue to erode those very rights.
It pits the power of the Bush administration against patients who legally use marijuana to relieve symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses.The plaintiffs in the case are Angel Raich, who suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, a seizure disorder, wasting syndrome, and other documented medical conditions; Diane Monson, who suffers from chronic back pain and spasms; and two un-named caregivers. With a doctor's recommendation, Raich and Monson have for years legally used medical marijuana under California's voter-approved Proposition 215.In spite of this state protection DEA agents raided Monson's home in 2002, seizing and destroying her marijuana plants.At issue in the case is a December 2003 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision protecting Raich and Monson and thousands of other patients in states under court jurisdiction that have passed laws permitting use of medical marijuana – Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.The Ninth Circuit decision prohibits the federal government from inappropriately applying the Interstate Commerce Clause to arrest medical marijuana patients acting consistent with the laws of their state who grow their own medicine or obtain it from others as long as 1) all related activity remains within a state that has legalized medical marijuana, and 2) the individual does not seek to obtain their medicine from others through commercial activity.Should the Supreme Court uphold the Ninth Circuit Court ruling in Raich v. Ashcroft, to be argued after the high court re-convenes in October, the federal government would be forced to cease arresting and harassing legally protected medical-marijuana patients in states under Ninth Circuit jurisdiction, at the least."There's a complete disconnect between government policies and what the public thinks," said Judy Appel, director of legal affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, in USA Today. "What's being challenged is whether the federal government can reach down and usurp local control."Medical marijuana advocates, patients and caregivers scored an autumn 2003 victory before the Supreme Court in Conant v. Walters, the most recent medical marijuana case taken up by the nation's highest court, when the court let stand the right of doctors to advise their patients on the benefits of medical marijuana."If this case eventually goes to the Supreme Court, we will learn whether the more conservative justices who developed [Federalist] doctrine have the courage of their convictions when it applies to activities of which they may disapprove," wrote attorney Randy Barnett, who argued the case before the Ninth Circuit Court, in National Review shortly after the decision.Advocates are optimistic that the Supreme Court will rule that the federal government has no right to reach into the medicine cabinet and cost the lives of innocent patients acting legally under the laws of their states. Note: The Supreme Court considers whether sick and dying patients living in states permitting medical marijuana use should be protected from federal law enforcement.Baylen J. Linnekin is a writer for -- http://www.drugpolicy.org/ The Alliance helped fund the plaintiffs in Raich v. Ashcroft.Source: AlterNet (US)Author: Baylen J. Linnekin, AlterNetPublished: June 29, 2004Copyright: 2004 Independent Media InstituteContact: letters alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://alternet.org/drugreporter/19099/Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich v. Ashcroft http://www.angeljustice.org/Conant v. Walters in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/walters.pdfMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMarijuana Backers Pleased by Justices' Decisionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19093.shtml Key Medical Pot Case To Be Heardhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19092.shtmlFederalism Wins - National Reviewhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18002.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 30, 2004 at 12:00:23 PT
New Page About Angel and Ashcroft Case
I thought I would make a page because there has been a lot of news concerning this important case. Here's the link. I will do my best to keep it updated.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htm
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 30, 2004 at 10:55:31 PT
Check This Out! 
Hemp Harangue June 30 - July 6, 2004The material used to weave the fabric of the first American flags may soon be illegal in the United States. A possible rehearing by the U.S. Court of Appeals may have natural foods stores once again scrambling to pull products containing hemp—such as cereals, waffles, veggie burgers, and nutrition bars—from their shelves. This would be the second such scare for hemp retailers and manufacturers—unexpected after the Feb. 6 ruling by the same court in favor of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA). That ruling ended a Drug Enforcement Administration ban on industrial hemp, which comes from the same plant family as marijuana but fails to contain enough THC to produce a high. Meanwhile, health-conscious consumers are lauding hemp foods as an excellent source of essential fatty acids, protein, and fiber. Hemp-based foods can be found at PCC Natural Markets, Whole Foods, and Terra Hemp in Wallingford. http://seattleweekly.com/features/0426/040630_food_hotdish.php
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 30, 2004 at 09:10:26 PT
Drug Policy Alliance: Take Action! Send a Message 
Tell Congress to Protect Medical Marijuana PatientsThe Ashcroft Justice Department is spending your tax dollars to arrest cancer, AIDS, and MS patients who use medical marijuana. Support an amendment in Congress to stop them. 
 
 http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=19658&ms=mjpatientshp
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on June 30, 2004 at 08:40:05 PT
This is why school drug testing is BAD IDEA
Because whatever sexual predators the school employs are going to be first in line wanting to run the program, that's why.Here's a new report on a threat to children that gets ignored next to the threat believed to come from pot:Study: Sex Abuse Prevalent in SchoolsWASHINGTON ? More than 4.5 million children are forced to endure sexual misconduct by school employees, from inappropriate comments to physical abuse, according to an exhaustive review of research that reads like a parent's worst nightmare.The best estimate is that almost one in 10 children, sometime between kindergarten and 12th grade, are targets of behavior ranging from unprofessional to criminal, says the report for Congress by Charol Shakeshaft, a professor at Hofstra University's School of EducationIt's posted at the Fox web site.
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