cannabisnews.com: Wary Court Considers Medical Marijuana





Wary Court Considers Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on November 29, 2004 at 09:55:53 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Washington -- The Supreme Court appeared hesitant Monday to endorse medical marijuana for patients who have a doctor's recommendation. Justices are considering whether sick people in 11 states with medical marijuana laws can get around a federal ban on pot. Paul Clement, the Bush administration's top court lawyer, noted that California allows people with chronic physical and mental health problems to smoke pot and said that potentially many people are subjecting themselves to health dangers.
"Smoked marijuana really doesn't have any future in medicine," he said.Justice Stephen Breyer said supporters of marijuana for the ill should take their fight to federal drug regulators before coming to the Supreme Court, and several justices repeatedly referred to America's drug addiction problems. Dozens of people, some with blankets, camped outside the high court to hear justices debate the issue. Groups such as the Drug Free America Foundation fear a government loss will undermine campaigns against addictive drugs. The high court heard arguments in the case of Angel Raich, who tried dozens of prescription medicines to ease the pain of a brain tumor and other illnesses before she turned to pot. Supporters of Raich and another ill woman who filed a lawsuit after her California home was raided by federal agents argue that people with the AIDS virus, cancer and other diseases should be able to grow and use marijuana. Their attorney, Randy Barnett of Boston, told justices that his clients are law-abiding citizens who need marijuana to survive. Marijuana may have some side effects, he said, but seriously sick people are willing to take the chance. Besides California, nine other states allow people to use marijuana if their doctors agree: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Arizona also has a law permitting marijuana prescriptions, but no active program. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled against the government in a divided opinion that found federal prosecution of medical marijuana users is unconstitutional if the marijuana is not sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes. Lawyers for Raich and Diane Monson contend the government has no justification for pursuing ill small-scale users. Raich, an Oakland, Calif., mother of two teenagers, has scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other illnesses. Monson, a 47-year-old accountant who lives near Oroville, Calif., has degenerative spine disease and grows her own marijuana plants in her backyard. The Bush administration argues that Congress has found no accepted medical use of marijuana and needs to be able to eradicate drug trafficking and its social harms. The Supreme Court ruled three years ago that the government could prosecute distributors of medical marijuana despite their claim that the activity was protected by "medical necessity." Dozens of groups have weighed in on the latest case, which deals with users and is much more sweeping. Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, conservative states that do not have medical marijuana laws, sided with the marijuana users on grounds that the federal government was trying to butt into state business of providing "for the health, safety, welfare and morals of their citizens." Some Republican members of Congress, meanwhile, urged the court to consider that more than 20,000 people die each year because of drug abuse. A ruling against the government, they said, would help drug traffickers avoid arrest, increase the marijuana supply and send a message that illegal drugs are good. California's 1996 medical marijuana law allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. Medical marijuana was an issue in the November elections. Montana voters easily approved a law that shields patients, their doctors and caregivers from arrest and prosecution for medical marijuana. But Oregon rejected a measure that would have dramatically expanded its existing medical marijuana program. The case is Ashcroft v. Raich, 03-1454. Note: Supreme Court Appears Hesitant to Allow 11 States With Medical Marijuana Laws to Evade Federal Ban. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: Monday, November 29, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Sites:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htm High Court To Hear Medical Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19899.shtmlCourt To Hear Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19898.shtmlShowdown Over Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19896.shtml
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Comment #16 posted by OverwhelmSam on November 29, 2004 at 22:22:46 PT
Take Heart Everyone!
Look, even if they rule against Raich the only thing it means is that the Federal government can continue to enforce the Controlled Substance Act. It doesn't change a single state law, and more can be passed across the country until the Congress either changes it's mind, or until we are successful in voting out the anti-marijuana jerks. There's another election in 2006. Optimism people, optimism!
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Comment #15 posted by Sukoi on November 29, 2004 at 11:59:31 PT
FoM
Hoy right you are!!!
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 11:58:12 PT
Sukoi 
Feeling good is a good thing. Feeling good in some people's mind is a bad thing. Why do people spend so much time trying to make people happy? Can we feel good or should we walk around in sackcloth and ashes? Society must start to see how wrong this whole argument has been. People in war times really need to feel good just to cope and how they find their own peace should be private as long as it hurts no one except maybe themselves.
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Comment #13 posted by AgaetisByrjun on November 29, 2004 at 11:53:49 PT
Dr. Ganj:
Do keep in mind, however, that millions of people in many more than ten states voted for the President and support his insane wars, both against Iraqis and pot smokers. This sounds horrible to say, but do remember that 50% of the population has a sub-100 IQ. I've tried to fight against snotty elitism, but in private I do believe that the intelligentsia should control the world, because so many people, even in our own country, are as dumb as logs. Nine justices, who are probably in the most intelligent 1% of the population, and have had more training in the law and the Constitution than any of us could ever know, do probably know better than we do. I used to be a pretty ardent populist until I discovered that the common man can be an absolutely great guy, but shouldn't lead the country.That being said, I really do hope that justice prevails. I have faith in all nine justices and really don't have any ill will towards even people like Scalia or Thomas: I disagree with everything they do, but I can see where they're coming from. I have a very different view of what's right, though.The worst thing about the Supreme Court is that the justices are given lifetime appointments; it was originally set up this way so the Court would be stable and shielded from fickle politics (for example, Bush's approval rating can go up and down 10 points in one week, which means that 10% of the people out there have no idea what they believe), but it's turned into the exact opposite. It was a good idea when people were dead or dying by their 60th birthday, but with today's 80-90-year lifespans, every Court nomination is the most absurdly politically charged spectacle ever.
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Comment #12 posted by Sukoi on November 29, 2004 at 11:49:36 PT
Feel better
I meant feel "good" as in "really good" and you are absolutely right about the children. Now if we could only get the prohibs to see that!Here is another article:Supreme BudsLegality of Cultivating Plant for Medical Use Is at Issuehttp://guerrillanews.com/headlines/headline.php?id=297
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 11:39:49 PT
Sukoi 
My opinion is most herbs and roots make a person feel better. They can't use the argument about safety for the children because many herbs and flowers are poisonous. Mistletoe is legal.
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Comment #10 posted by Sukoi on November 29, 2004 at 11:30:55 PT
It's illegal
because it makes some people feel good, others well, it can't be patented by some pharmaceutical company - the government can't have that - and lets not forget the children!Off Topic:Security officials to spy on chat rooms1=5750">http://msn-cnet.com.com/Security+of...n_home>1=5750"The CIA is quietly funding federal research into surveillance of Internet chat rooms as part of an effort to identify possible terrorists, newly released documents reveal." 
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 11:17:57 PT
Herbs, Weeds, Roots Etc.
Herbs are legal so why isn't Cannabis?
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Comment #8 posted by potpal on November 29, 2004 at 11:16:25 PT
Can of bliss
"Smoked marijuana really doesn't have any future in medicine," he said.FDA / federally approved medicine that is...The genie is out of the bottle. 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 11:16:10 PT
Dr Ganj 
I know how you feel. I have been thru every emotion this morning. I'm going from bummed out to angry to determined to sad in seconds.
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Comment #6 posted by Dr Ganj on November 29, 2004 at 11:08:35 PT
Supreme Ream
Can anyone tell me why 9 judges should have the power to void the will of millions of voters in 10 states?
These mean bastards will vote against Angel Raich for sure, and cause so much misery it even boggles my mind.
Also then, why should states even bother to vote in medical marijuana laws when they know its against federal law? 
Some free nation, where supposedly one's vote counts.
I know my vote doesn't matter.
We live in a terrible world, and there's no place to run that is benevolent. How sad, but how true....
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 11:01:37 PT
Question
Can Governor Schwarzenegger help by doing something? He said he is for medical marijuana? I don't think he likes his state stepped on.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 10:48:25 PT
freedom23
Thank you. I get very upset about medical marijuana issues. I never thought in my wildest imagination that Cannabis would still be illegal when the young people from the Woodstock era were adults and had clout in politics. It really is hard to understand for me.
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Comment #3 posted by freedom23 on November 29, 2004 at 10:40:34 PT
About the arguments
Remember, it's very common for SCOTUS Justices to "pimp" both sides. Just because the arguments went hard doesn't mean a decision has already been made. To gain some insight into this there are two recent cases, US v. Lopez and US v. Morrison, that would support Raich et al. It might show how each Justice might rule in this case.Pimp: To incessantly question in great depth a subordinate to test his or her knowledge or opinion, to explore more than one facet of said knowledge or opinion. A term commonly used by medical school students and professors.Let's hope for the best.
"Bullsh*t: Penn & Teller" vs the War on Drugs
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Comment #2 posted by freedom23 on November 29, 2004 at 10:19:58 PT
Transcript location
_When_ the transcript becomes available in a few days here's the URL: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/03-1454.pdfIt might be ready Friday but most likely next week. _Please_ give them a few days and don't hammer their site. Thanks.Lets hope for the best.
"Bullsh*t: Penn & Teller" vs the War on Drugs
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 29, 2004 at 10:07:12 PT
They Don't Listen To Us!
He said:Justice Stephen Breyer said supporters of marijuana for the ill should take their fight to federal drug regulators before coming to the Supreme Court, and several justices repeatedly referred to America's drug addiction problems. I say:Addiction problems are huge with legal prescription drugs like OxyContin etc. but Cannabis isn't physically addicting.
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