cannabisnews.com: Atty. Gen. Urges Reno No Rehearing of MMJ Case





Atty. Gen. Urges Reno No Rehearing of MMJ Case
Posted by FoM on October 15, 1999 at 10:55:14 PT
DRC Net's Weekly Update News
Source: DRC Net
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno this week urging her to forego the filing of a petition to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a rehearing of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Club case. 
The appellate decision, as it now stands, calls upon the District Court to reconsider its ruling against the assertion of a medical necessity defense in cases of medicinal use of marijuana. Locker wrote, in part: "As you know, 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 the 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." Robert Raich, lead counsel for the Oakland CBC, said, "The significance of this letter is that it represents a concrete action Bill Lockyer has taken in support of legal access to medical cannabis, and by writing in an attorney-general-to-attorney-general capacity, it might actually have a positive effect with the Clinton Administration." Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Lockyer, told The Week Online that while their office has no indication of how the letter will be received at Justice, they are doing all they can to resolve the federal/state dispute. "The reality is that the voters of California passed an initiative which directly contradicts federal law," Barankin said. "Attorney General Lockyer is attempting to make the best of that untenable position. He is doing everything in his power to implement Proposition 215, and the 9th Circuit opinion, which is narrowly drawn, provides, in our opinion, the right sort of guidance on how to do that." Read the 9th Circuit Court decision online -- the relevant portion is in the section entitled "Denial of the Motion to Modify." The Week Online with DRCNetIssue #112, 10/15/99 http://www.drcnet.org/wol/FIRST NATIONAL STUDENT LEADERS IN DRUG POLICY CONFERENCENOV. 5-6WASHINGTON, D.C. REGISTER NOW! STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICYhttp://www.ssdp.org URGENT ACTION ALERT: STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY AND HELP SAVE DC'S NEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW! http://www.drcnet.org/alerts/101399.html215 NOWhttp://www.215now.com/ Lockyer Urges Reno To Forgo Appeal of Medical-Pot - 10/15/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3287.shtmlLockyer Asks Feds To Drop Opposition - 10/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3284.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 15, 1999 at 22:00:44 PT:
E-Mail From Peter McWilliams - 10/15/99
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 1999 Contact: Rachel Swain Tommy McDonald Erin Malec: 415-255-1946 For more information visit: Peter Trial Home Pagehttp://www.petertrial.com/New Appeal to Go Before Ninth Circuit Could Mean Life or Death for Medical Marijuana Defendant with AIDS Appeal Invokes Recent Ninth Circuit Ruling; Argues Marijuana is "Medical Necessity" for Critically-Ill Patient Peter McWilliams Calif. Attorney General Bill Lockyer Asks Janet Reno to Let Landmark Ruling on Medical Necessity Stand SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Weeks after the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that medical necessity arguments should be heard in the federal suit against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, attorneys for critically-ill AIDS patient Peter McWilliams will ask the Ninth Circuit to reverse a U.S. District Court decision that bars McWilliams from using medical marijuana while he awaits trial on federal marijuana charges. In the appeal, to be filed Thursday October 14, attorneys argue that without medical marijuana, McWilliams could die before his case goes to trial. If the appeal is granted, McWilliams would become the first person to ever use medical marijuana with the approval of a federal court. McWilliams, an author and publisher who has AIDS and is a cancer survivor, was barred from smoking medical marijuana as a condition for his release on bail after his 1998 arrest for an alleged conspiracy to cultivate and distribute marijuana. The ban was upheld by U.S. District Court Judge George King, and McWilliams now submits to random urine tests. In Limine hearings in the trial of McWilliams and his co-defendants, including medical marijuana patient and researcher Todd McCormick, will take place in Los Angeles on October 18, and the trial is expected to begin November 16. "I am deeply concerned that if Peter is not permitted to use medical marijuana, he may not make it to trial, let alone through trial," said Thomas Ballanco, McWilliams' attorney. "If there was ever a clear-cut case of medical necessity, this is it. For Peter McWilliams, medical marijuana equals life." Before his arrest, McWilliams smoked medical marijuana as an anti-nausea medication to keep down his combination therapies that keep the AIDS virus under control. Since he stopped using medical marijuana, McWilliams has lost 30 pounds, his viral load has shot up to a dangerous level of 250,000 and his immune system has become highly compromised, according to his physician, Daniel Bowers, M.D. Although his cancer is currently in remission, a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or another secondary infection could kill him at any time, says Bowers. McWilliams is confined to a wheelchair and rarely leaves his home in Laurel Canyon, CA. McWilliams now uses the synthetic THC compound Marinol to control his vomiting - a therapy that he says enables him to digest only one third of his treatments but leaves him feeling 'stoned' and unable to work. Medical marijuana, according to McWilliams, was 100 percent effective as an anti-emetic, and was not debilitating. On September 13, 1999, a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously ruled that "medical necessity" can be a viable defense for people accused of breaking federal marijuana laws. The panel ordered U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer to take into account evidence that some patients need marijuana to treat debilitating and life-threatening ailments in the federal lawsuit against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer stepped in last week to urge federal authorities to let this landmark ruling stand. In an October 6 letter to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Lockyer wrote: "I ask that you consider foregoing the filing of a petition for rehearing and allow the matter to proceed back to the District Court for further proceedings. As you know, 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." Since his election in November 1998, Lockyer has spearheaded statewide efforts to establish guidelines for the implementation of California's Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Proposition 215). Ironically, although a federally-funded March 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences found that marijuana does have medicinal benefits, marijuana is still classified under federal law as a Schedule I drug - a highly dangerous substance with no medicinal qualities. McWilliams, 50, was arrested in 1998 by federal agents on charges that he financed the cultivation of over 6,000 marijuana plants to sell to marijuana clubs. McWilliams, the author of five best-selling books, contends that his only role in the alleged conspiracy was paying a book advance to McCormick, whom McWilliams had commissioned to write two books on medical marijuana. McWilliams, who says he avoided all illegal drugs until, as a last resort, he obtained his doctor's consent to try medical marijuana, says he did grow medical marijuana for his own personal use. Rachel Swain Senior Publicist Communication Works (415/255-1946) Complete motion at: http://petertrial.com/motion Lockyer Letter to Reno at: http://petertrial.com/lockyer 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 15, 1999 at 15:59:39 PT:
Update On Peter McWilliams
Peter Trial Home Pagehttp://www.petertrial.com/Latest Newshttp://www.petertrial.com/latest_news.htmText of Appealhttp://www.petertrial.com/motion.htmLockyer Letter To Janet Renohttp://www.petertrial.com/lockyer.htmLockyer Asks Feds To Drop Opposition - 10/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3284.shtmlMarijuana, Medicine and D.C. - 10/02/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3113.shtmlAIDS Patient Pins Hopes on Pot Ruling - 9/20/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2951.shtmlWho's Minding the Rights of California's Sick - 9/16/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2908.shtmlThe 9th Circuit Inhales - 9/16/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread2907.shtml
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


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