cannabisnews.com: Government Continues To Resist California's Voters





Government Continues To Resist California's Voters
Posted by FoM on August 03, 2000 at 18:58:05 PT
By David Kravets, Associated Press Writer 
Source: Sacramento Bee
The Department of Justice pledged to continue resisting California's voter-approved medical marijuana law Thursday, arguing that the government has the right to penalize doctors who recommend cannabis by revoking their licenses to dispense medication.Justice department lawyers argued their position in U.S. District Court here during what may be the final stage of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. 
The ACLU contends that the government's position violates doctors' free speech rights, and that many doctors now resist recommending pot for fear of losing their federal right to prescribe medication.U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup was expected to rule within weeks, lawyers said, and the ruling could have broad implications for several states with similar laws.Measures similar to California's Proposition 215, which voters passed in 1996, have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.Department of Justice lawyer Joseph W. Lobue told the judge that the government doesn't care whether California voters approved the so-called Compassionate Use Act, which allows patients to grow and possess marijuana for medical use with a doctor's recommendation."It doesn't matter what California says," Lobue argued.Arguing that federal law applies to the country no matter how states may have voted, Lobue said the government would take the same position "in Oklahoma if they had that law."Legal jockeying in California began three years ago when White House drug policy chief Barry McCaffrey said that doctors who recommended marijuana would lose their federal licenses to prescribe controlled substances. He said the doctors would be excluded from Medicare and Medicaid and could face criminal charges."That is censorship in its pure and complete form," ACLU attorney Graham Boyd said Thursday.In 1997, a federal judge issued a temporary order prohibiting the government from taking such action pending the case's resolution.The 10 doctors and five of their patients, all of whom are represented by the ACLU, say marijuana can be beneficial to patients with AIDS, HIV, cancer, glaucoma, and seizures or muscle spasms associated with chronic, debilitating conditions. The government's position is that marijuana has no proven medical benefits and that the Federal Drug Administration has not authorized doctors to even recommend it.California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has urged Attorney General Janet Reno to ease the federal government's resistance to California's attempts to implement its initiative."The voters in my state have endorsed the medicinal use of marijuana," Lockyer wrote to Reno in October.In Thursday's case, Judge Alsup appeared perplexed by the government's position. He said the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in September that the government cannot prosecute someone who uses marijuana "as a medical necessity.""If that's true, who's going to declare if it's a medical necessity if it's not a doctor?" the judge asked Lobue. "How do you square that, holding with your position in this case that a doctor cannot even recommend marijuana?"Lobue responded by saying that a doctor should have to decide what constitutes a medical necessity in federal court, before trying to decide in a medical office. Doing that, Lobue said, would prevent the government from trying to revoke that doctor's license to dispense drugs."The physician would have to testify," Lobue said.Send Us E-Mail:http://www.sacbee.com/bee/sacbeemail.htmlSan Francisco (AP) Published: August 3, 2000 Copyright © The Sacramento Bee Related Articles & Web Sites:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Pot Backers Vow Fight for Right To Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6584.shtmlClinton Asks Supreme Court To Overturn MMJ Rulinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6558.shtmlMedicinal Pot Goes To Supreme Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6557.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
END SNIP -->
Snipped
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #9 posted by dddd on August 05, 2000 at 02:53:00 PT
It doesnt matter?
"It doesn't matter what California says," Lobue argued. I'm a Californian,,I voted for prop 215. I keep thinking about this statement;"It doesn't matter what California says," I beg your pardon?"It doesn't matter what California says,"Come again,I'm not sure if I heard you correctly..."It doesn't matter what California says," The more I consider the arrogance of this statement,the more I become a really PISSED OFF Californian!"It doesn't matter what California says," Lobue argued.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 04, 2000 at 12:27:27 PT
An Idea
Hi Ben,I really like Harry Browne myself. I was wondering if a representative of The Libertarian Party has gotten in contact with people about the Shadow Convention in Los Angeles. I read Nader showed up at the one in Philadelphia. Just a suggestion if no one has thought of it. The Shadow Conventions aren't for any party just reform issues.Peace, FoM!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #7 posted by Ben Cohn on August 04, 2000 at 11:58:26 PT:
Gore's no better than "W"
Hey fivepounder,I don't think we're any more f**cked if we get "W" than if we get Gore. I voted for Clinton in '92 based on this reasoning, thinking "Anybody but Bush!"Guess what? Clinton has been far worse than Bush and Reagan put together. The War on Drugs is bigger than ever, the Constitution even more diminished.The Democrats are no longer automatic friends on this issue, anymore than the Republicans are automatic enemies. Look at how craven Democrats Gray Davis, Bill Lockyer, and Dianne Fienstein have been in California, while Republicans such Gary Johnson and Tom Campbell are speaking good truth for us.The ONLY party we can rely on, the only one that has espoused full Drug Legalization from very start, the only one that promises to parole ALL of the nonviolent drug offenders in Federal prisons, is the LIBERTARIAN PARTY. Vote for Harry Browne, and for any Libertarians in your state. Don't give your vote to people who want to arrest you!PeaceBen Cohn
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #6 posted by zion on August 04, 2000 at 07:52:58 PT
Take the politics out of it, please!
But I thought the mantra of drug warriors was that decisions regarding medical marijuana should rest in the science and medical community, NOT in the political arena. At least that's what they keep harping about when they criticize the state initiatives that legalize medical marijuana. So how does threatening doctors who prescribe medicine with sanctions up to and including prison incarceration "allow medical science, not politics" to dictate the policies of this issue?-z 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by fivepounder on August 04, 2000 at 07:12:36 PT
delay, delay, delay
Its simple. They will do anything to pospone any and all reform. By always buying as much ime as possible, no matter how assinine they look, they put if off to the future. If they always pospone change, nothing happens. I agree that the pressure is growing, but on the other hand if we get "w" this fall, we're f**ked. Of course the only reason he's leading gore is because he's so bad it makes georgie look good. Things are looking the best they have in 20 years but that doesn't mean they will lie down dead any time soon. W have many more lies to listen to before we get anything close to reality in the drug debate.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on August 04, 2000 at 06:54:44 PT:
Taking the Proverbial Fruitcake
This one takes the proverbial fruitcake. Does our govenment suppose that through paternalistic posturing, "It is so because we say it is so," that their position will prevail? This, from the govenrment that purposely infected black men with syphilis in Alabama to see what would happen, and then denied it for decades? I will say it again: ours is a government whose priority is the preservation of its ideology, and which has no regard for the public health. 
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on August 04, 2000 at 04:36:06 PT:
They really want a beating, don't they?
Consider, friends: the only recent scientific study on cannabis is by a *bona fide oncologist and clinician* - the good Dr. Abrams. Someone who is more than familiar with the medicinal nature of cannabis. In short, Dr. Abrams is a textbook example of an 'expert witness'. He is someone who, if called to testify in a court of law, could blow out of the water the same nonsenical myths that the Ontario Court of Appeals ruled against as comprising the rationale for cannabis prohibition.Can the antis *really*, to a man, be that *stupid*? Can they *truly* desire to have their much-cherished myths laid bare in a court of law, for all the world to see? Do they want 63 years worth of policy founded upon racial bigotry, practically the dirtiest laundry around, aired in public? Is there some sort of self-flagellation order within the DoJ that is heavily into masochism?(These guys remind me of the scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail; the monks marching throught the streets, chanting and bashing their foreheads with wooden boards. Not terribly bright.)The Feds are suffering from a case of terminal hubris; They believe that, despite what has happened in the last two weeks, that they can continue this farce as if nothing is happening. They are trying to bull and bluff their way as they have for last 63 years. But the times are changing. Indeed they are.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by dddd on August 04, 2000 at 01:30:28 PT
GREAT CEASARS GHOST!
It is truly astonishing,how uncle sam could justify,and get away with such dictatoresque behavior in shamelessly ignoring the voters of California. I'm afraid I just dont understand,and I would really like to know exactly who the evil traitor is,that is dimented and crazed enough to persue this. Lobue is obviously some sort of hired gun,whoever is behind this should recieve ten times the maximum mandatory minimum,and should have all his assets siezed,and forfieted to the state of California,to be used to purchase high grade marijuana for any and all patients,or voters that have had to endure the annoyance and agrivation of being attacked by the supposed government "by and for the people".... This is absolutely ABSURD!!! Where is the outrage???.................dddd
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #1 posted by Thomas on August 03, 2000 at 20:23:08 PT
It Never Fails . . . 
to amaze me what people can and will say when representing the government. The DoJ lawyer actually suggests each medical marijuana user's recommendor needs to testify before a court of law. Is he serious? I can picture this guy with his fingers in his ears repeating over and over "marijuana has no medical value . . . marijuana has no medical value . . "
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


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