cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Proves To Be a 'Medical Necessity' 





Marijuana Proves To Be a 'Medical Necessity' 
Posted by FoM on September 24, 1999 at 12:48:26 PT
Source: Oakland Tribune
REMEMBER the term "medical necessity." It could neutralize federal and legal resistance to the use of marijuana as a medicine to treat people suffering from AIDS, anorexia, chronic pain, cancer and other acute ailments. 
If so, much credit must go to the persistence of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That three-judge panel made the phrase part of the legal debate over marijuana last week by instructing U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer to consider whether its use might be a "medical necessity" for some sick and dying people. If that proves to be the case, Proposition 215, the medical marijuana law Californians approved three years ago, may finally emerge from a legal quagmire created by federal law's prohibition on its distribution and use. Federal prosecutors used that ban to seek an injunction closing the Oakland cannabis cooperative after Prop. 215 passed. Judge Breyer granted it, concluding that the cooperative's argument that marijuana was medically necessary didn't pass legal muster. The cooperative's executive director, Jeff Jones, appealed the ruling. Justices Mary Schroeder, Stephen Reinhardt and Barry Silverman concluded that the cooperative made its case that, "There is a class of people with serious medical conditions for whom the use of cannabis is necessary." Shifting the burden of proof, they also concluded that government officials failed "to identify any interest it may have in blocking the distribution of cannabis to those with medical needs." It was a thoughtful, constructive ruling that injects a dose of common sense and reality into the post-Prop. 215 standoff between California, several of its municipalities and the federal government. Medical underpinning for the appeals court's decision was published earlier this year in the form of a report by the Institute of Medicine that said marijuana may have value as a pain reliever, nausea suppressant and appetite stimulant. The study sponsored by the Office of National Drug Control Policy supports medical marijuana advocates seeking to get the Food and Drug Administration to reclassify the drug from Schedule I, which makes it illegal, to Schedule II, which categorizes it with drugs like morphine that doctors can prescribe. While we agree with such reclassification, we also are acutely aware that it can be a short distance between medical and recreational use. Medical marijuana must be handled in the same manner as other prescription drugs. No matter what form it is consumed in -- some proponents advocate an inhaler -- medical marijuana must be prescribed by a doctor who does so for legitimate medical reasons and with the patient's best interest at heart. Nothing could reverse pro-medical marijuana sentiment quicker than abuse of reasonable guidelines for its use. One of the Californians working hardest to reconcile voters' wishes and federal law has been Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Since taking office early this year, he has formed a task force to examine how marijuana can be distributed for medical use without violating federal codes. His predecessor, Dan Lungren, opposed implementation of Prop. 215 and used federal agents and prosecutors to prevent it. Lockyer has taken a hands-off approach while working with attorneys general in other states with similar laws to seek changes in federal policy. Although it is likely to be appealed, the appellate court's recognition that marijuana is a "medical necessity" closes the chasm between extreme positions. Marijuana should withstand further tests of its medical usefulness. When that happens, the appeals court's phrase "medical necessity" could be instrumental in getting it accepted legally as a pharmaceutical product.Friday September 24, 1999© 1999 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG NewspapersAIDS Patient Pins Hopes on Pot Ruling - 9/20/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2951.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 24, 1999 at 22:53:49 PT:
Editorial: Straight Dope On Marijuana
Pubdate: Fri, 24 September 1999 Source: San Luis Obispo County Tribune (CA) Website: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/ Sooner or later California and the federal government are going to get it straight. We're talking about the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals ruled unanimously in San Francisco last week that cannabis clubs in the state (cannabis is the technical term for marijuana) can distribute the stuff as long as they are able to prove that the users can suffer great pain, perhaps serious harm, if they don't use it. The ruling, overturning a lower court decision, flies in the face of federal policy, which holds that marijuana is without medicinal value. This conflict of judgments left everyone confused until an explanation was delivered by Gerald F. Uelman, a law professor at Santa Clara University. Uleman held that the ruling means that "federal law is not an absolute barrier to distribution of marijuana. It requires courts to exercise discretion to look at the circumstances of individual patients and weigh that against the public intrest." At least for now, indications are, mercifully, that Washington will let the Appeals Court ruling stand, federal law notwithstanding. But it's an uneasy situation at best. If the wishes of Californians are to be honored, the medical use of marijuana should be allowed. When the issue was put to a public vote in November 1996 as Proposition 215, it passed by a wide margin. But many citizens, medical authorities and newspapers such as ours, have been uneasy about laws allowing use of marijuana for medical purposes. Prop. 215 may have humanitarian purposes, but our feeling has been that the language is not specific enough and could lead to abuse. On the other hand, there is evidence that sufferers of such diseases as cancer and AIDS can obtain relief if allowed to use marijuana by prescription and under continual doctor vigilance. The time is overdue for the courts and the federal government to come to an understanding.As matters stand, we in California apparently are violating federal policy, and we're doing so with the blessing of a federal court. Copyright: 1999 San Luis Obispo County Newspapers Contact: wgroshong TheTribuneNews.com 
Editorial: Straight Dope On Marijuana
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