cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Case in Court 





Medical Pot Case in Court 
Posted by CN Staff on November 30, 2004 at 11:04:32 PT
By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
Washington -- Two ailing Northern California women took their plea for legally tolerated medical marijuana to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday and ran into skeptical questioning from both wings of the court. The justices, minus Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who is being treated for thyroid cancer, heard arguments on whether the federal ban on marijuana possession and distribution overrides laws in California and nine other states allowing seriously ill patients to use pot with a doctor's recommendation. A ruling is due by summer. 
The court last addressed the issue of medical marijuana in 2001, when it ruled that federal law did not contain a "medical necessity'' exemption that would allow an Oakland cooperative to distribute the drug to patients. The issue before the justices Monday was different: whether the federal government's constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce extends to locally grown marijuana, supplied without charge to patients whose use is permitted by state law. The patients -- Angel Raich, 39, of Oakland, who suffers from a brain tumor, multiple bone ailments and a wasting syndrome; and Diane Monson, 47, of Oroville, who uses marijuana to combat severe back pain -- filed suit in 2002 saying the government has no such power. Their argument was tailored to appeal to the high court's dominant conservative bloc, which has issued several rulings since 1995 limiting federal power over the states. One member of that bloc seemed receptive Monday. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/courtcase.htmSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - Page A - 1Copyright: 2004 San Francisco Chronicle Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich vs. Ashcroft http://www.angeljustice.org/Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmJustices Skeptical Over Patients' Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19922.shtmlCourt Hears Medical Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19919.shtmlPot Case Heard At The Tophttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19918.shtmlHigh Court Must Take Lead in MMJ Debatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19917.shtml 
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