cannabisnews.com: Lockyer Urges Reno To Forgo Appeal of Medical-Pot 





Lockyer Urges Reno To Forgo Appeal of Medical-Pot 
Posted by FoM on October 15, 1999 at 08:07:17 PT
By Claire Cooper, Bee Legal Affairs Writer
Source: Capitol Alert
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has asked the U.S. Department of Justice not to appeal a recent court ruling that opened the door to legal medicinal use of marijuana.
In a letter last week to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Lockyer said the ruling, permitting exemptions from federal anti-drug laws for some gravely ill patients, was consistent with the will expressed by California voters in 1996 in endorsing Proposition 215, the state's medical marijuana initiative.The ruling was handed down a month ago by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The U.S. Justice Department, the losing party in the case, must decide in the next two weeks whether to seek review by an 11-member panel of 9th Circuit judges.Lockyer urged Reno to forgo further review and let a trial judge take the next step, as the 9th Circuit directed.The circuit court told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco to determine whether there are seriously ill people who would be seriously harmed if deprived of marijuana. The "public interest" could be served by recognizing a defense of "medical necessity" when those people break federal drug laws, the 9th Circuit suggested.A spokeswoman at the Justice Department said Thursday that Lockyer's letter had not yet been received. Lockyer spokesman Nathan Barankin said the state had received no indication of the federal government's plans.The case arose when Justice Department lawyers asked Breyer to shut down the 1,500-member Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, one of several such organizations supplying pot to patients after Proposition 215 became the law in California. The initiative purported to legalize marijuana for people with medical authorization to use it.The Justice Department argued that federal laws amounted to a flat ban on marijuana, leaving no room for the co-ops to operate legally. Reno's lawyers persuaded Breyer to issue an injunction against the Oakland co-op in 1998, but the 9th Circuit last month told him to re-evaluate the situation.Barankin said Thursday that Lockyer "recognizes there is the fundamental conflict between federal and state law" but considers the 9th Circuit's decision "thoughtful and reasonable."Lockyer said in his letter to Reno: "The voters in my state have endorsed the medicinal use of marijuana, and the court's decision holding that a citizen may present evidence that use of marijuana, under certain narrow conditions, may be a lawful exception to the federal drug laws is consistent with that expression of their will."In a related development, the 9th Circuit this week refused to release B.E. Smith of Trinity County from custody pending his appeal of a conviction in U.S. District Court in Sacramento for possessing and cultivating marijuana. Smith was the first individual patient and caregiver prosecuted under federal drug laws after passage of Proposition 215. The trial judge did not permit Smith to present a medical-necessity defense. The circuit court's order, signed by two judges, said his appeal had not raised any issue that was likely to result in a reversal of his May conviction or reduction of his sentence. In his motion for release, Smith had cited the 9th Circuit's Sept. 13 ruling.Published Oct. 15, 1999Copyright © The Sacramento Bee Related Articles & Web Site:215 NOWhttp://www.215now.com/Lockyer Asks Feds To Drop Opposition - 10/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3284.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: