cannabisnews.com: Med. Pot Ruling May Have Far-Reaching Implications





Med. Pot Ruling May Have Far-Reaching Implications
Posted by FoM on July 14, 2000 at 21:01:56 PT
By Claire Cooper & Denny Walsh
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he'll issue a new ruling Monday on medical marijuana, indicating he probably will clear the way for an Oakland cooperative to provide legal pot to patients who must use it because of "medical necessity."Oakland is ready to dispense pot Tuesday, said City Attorney Jayne Williams. The city deputized workers at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative two years ago. 
It has verified medical records of people authorized to use marijuana and has issued them special photo-identification cards.The ruling also could bolster the legal position of some pot providers or users throughout northwestern California. While they still could be prosecuted under federal drug laws, they could defend themselves by showing "medical necessity" - that is, that the drug provided relief to a person with no legal alternative for relieving symptoms of a serious medical condition such as AIDS or cancer.The terms of Breyer's proposed order were not spelled out.But in a hearing Friday, he said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had directed him to reconsider his 1998 injunction against the 2,500-member Oakland cooperative. Issued under the federal controlled-substances act, the injunction stopped all marijuana distribution at the Oakland facility."I see no reason why I would not modify the injunction," Breyer said.In a 1999 opinion, the appellate court told Breyer to weigh whether the public interest would be served by making marijuana available to seriously ill people whose only choices are to suffer or break the law.Mark Quinlivan, a lawyer from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, urged Breyer to interpret the directive narrowly.But Breyer said the circuit would simply send the case back once more."I don't think that's fair to anybody," he said.Quinlivan said the federal government has not decided whether to take the circuit's decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.The deadline is in about two weeks.San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan was prepared to join Williams against Quinlivan, but Breyer said he didn't need to hear from the defense.Afterward, Hallinan said the legal principles that Breyer sets forth Monday will be applicable throughout the coastal judicial district extending from Monterey to the Oregon border.Gerald Uelmen, a lawyer for the Oakland cooperative, said Breyer's expected ruling also should encourage use of the medical necessity defense in other cases throughout California.Enforcement of the federal Controlled Substances Act has been uneven since the state passed a medical marijuana initiative in 1996.In federal court in Sacramento, sentencing is set for July 28 for Margaret and William Riddick of Newcastle, who pleaded guilty to growing pot - for a San Francisco cooperative, they said. Their lawyers advised them a medical necessity defense would not be allowed.A pretrial hearing is scheduled to resume Aug. 16 in another Sacramento federal court case, that of Bryan James Epis of Los Altos, who also maintains his pot was grown for a cooperative.The defendant in another Sacramento case, B.E. Smith of Trinity County, has an appeal pending in the 9th Circuit. Smith was diagnosed as suffering from post- traumatic stress disorder and had a doctor's prescription for marijuana. A jury convicted him in 1999 after U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. barred a medical necessity defense. Contact Claire Cooper and Denny Walsh of the Sacramento Bee in California at: http://www.sacbee.comScripps-McClatchy Western ServiceSacramento, Calif.Published: July 14, 2000 Copyright © 2000 Scripps Howard News Service Related Articles & Web Site:Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/index.htmlJudge Hints He Will Modify MMJ Injunctionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6399.shtmlStudy Finds Pot Safe for AIDS Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6390.shtmlStudy Finds Marijuana Use Safe for HIV Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6383.shtmlStudy Finds Pot Use Safe for HIV Patientshttp://www.examiner.com/000713/0713aids.htmlCircuit Rules in Favor of Pot Users http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5712.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives: http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on July 15, 2000 at 09:41:41 PT:
Cracks in the foundation, cracks in the 
walls, cracks in the ceilings, and the windows are busted out. A filthy white flood is inundating every room. The carpenters hired to clean it up seem more interested in punching further holes in the walls in order to keep themselves employed. But the DrugWarriors insist that there's nothing seriously wrong with their house... it just needs a little more money to fix it up. Like a billion dollars or so, puh-lease?Well, the biggest crack in the foundation, the one that could bring the whole house down, started in Durban, South Africa, earlier this week. The study the Lysenkoist 'scientist' Allan Leshner, chief of NIDA, spent 6 years, God knows how many man-hours, and millions of dollars to *prevent* from being made was finally conducted and the results made public - to the entire planet, no less. And, whataya know? Cannabis *isn't* damaging to the (already) compromised immune systems of AIDS patients. Just as any AIDS patient who has ever used cannabis to stay alive would tell you.If I were Barry, I wouldn't just be dusting off my reseume and updating it... I'd think I'd want to get a good lawyer, too. After January, he might need one from all the lawsuits by those who've lost loved ones courtesy of a DrugWar based on a lie. A lie a now MEDICALLY PROVEN FALSE. 
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Comment #2 posted by dddd on July 15, 2000 at 03:43:43 PT
doctor
Dr. Ganjs' commentary is absolutely right onwise in my opinion. If this ruling is somehow allowed to stand,it will be a major positive thing........ But to give equal time to the negative viewpoint,,,,You can bet that czar,and his cronies will do their best to wreck it. Who are you gonna vote for czar in November?McDonough, or Souder..?..........dddd
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Comment #1 posted by Dr. Ganj on July 15, 2000 at 00:11:26 PT
Medical Necessity
Here it comes, folks! This is REALLY BIG NEWS!If the government doesn't appeal this to the U.S. Supreme Court, and I'll bet they won't, we are looking at a pivotal turning point on the war on marijuana. The theory behind the "medical necessity defense" goes like this: If someone steals a boat to save someone from drowning, the person who stole the boat should not be prosecuted. Same holds true for someone with cancer, who with the assistance of marijuana, can assuage his/her nausea, and not regurgitate the chemotherapy medications that are helping him/her live. So, should that patient be charged with a crime for trying to save his/her own life? The feds certainly think so. It's just too cruel to believe.Without the use of marijuana, some people have been known to die-and a perfect example of this the late Peter McWilliams.So, if Judge Breyer reconsiders his ruling, and it seems that he will, some medical marijuana users will now have a viable defense in federal court, where before there were no legal avenues in which to travel.It's a little too late for many, including Peter McWilliams, but at least others won't have to unnecessarily asphyxiate on their own vomit. Dr. Ganj 
http://www.norml.org
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