cannabisnews.com: Hope for Healing Hope for Healing Posted by CN Staff on November 26, 2004 at 08:18:02 PT By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer Source: Sacramento Bee The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will hear the case that offers medical marijuana patients their best hope of getting around the federal government's strict laws against pot.A year ago the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, two desperately ill Northern California women, and the federal government has appealed to the Supreme Court. Angel McClary Raich, 39, calls marijuana "my miracle." She vows that the government "won't take it away from me." She suffers from multiple ailments that don't respond to conventional therapies, including wasting syndrome and an inoperable brain tumor. The other plaintiff, Diane Monson, 47, of Butte County, is prone to excruciating back spasms and, like Raich, did poorly on conventional drugs.The 9th Circuit said federal authorities lack the power to regulate the noncommercial growing, possession and use of pot for personal medical purposes if the activity occurs wholly within a state that permits it. California has done so since 1996, when voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act. The law permits patients with a doctor's recommendation to use marijuana and also covers their caregivers. A more recent state law sets limits on pot amounts and penalties for abusers.Monson grows her pot in her home garden, generating each crop from seeds produced by the previous crop. Raich gets her pot free from two Oakland growers, who use only California plants, soil, water and nutrients.A victory for the women would reverberate. Twenty-six states have acknowledged medicinal marijuana in some way, if only by establishing research programs or providing reduced penalties for users, according to a brief filed by several medical associations.Almost half of those states view marijuana as a legitimate medicine, despite the federal government's position that it "has no accepted medicinal use." Pending the Supreme Court decision which is expected by early summer, several judges already have placed federal cases involving medical marijuana on hold and have ordered some convicted defendants released from prison.Meanwhile, Raich and Monson are protected by a preliminary injunction that bars federal authorities from interfering with them or their pot supplies.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/healinghope.htmSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author: Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished: Friday, November 26, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmSupreme Court To Hear California Med Pot Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19882.shtmlHigh Court To Weigh Medical Marijuana Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19881.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by The GCW on November 26, 2004 at 10:51:41 PT Healing? Cannabis is the tree of life. Cannabis is the tree of life, and it can not only heal Angel McClary Raich, it can heal more.And this is what it says on the very last page of the Bible about healing and the tree of life.Revelation 22"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, ..."http://www.biblegateway.org/bible?passage=REV+22&language=english&version=NASB [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by siege on November 26, 2004 at 10:39:06 PT Special Report Saudis, Enron money helped pay for US rigged electionhttp://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/112504Madsen/112504madsen.html [ Post Comment ] Post Comment