cannabisnews.com: Marijuana and Congress





Marijuana and Congress
Posted by FoM on June 06, 2001 at 16:04:17 PT
By Register Editorial Board
Source: Des Moines Register
Voters in seven states and legislators in an eighth have made an exception to their state drug laws for patients who use marijuana for medical purposes. To those states, the Supreme Court of the United States has now said: You've got your laws, the federal government has its laws, and Congress has not repealed the ban on sale and distribution of marijuana.Thus, we now have the specter of a California resident authorized by a physician and state law to use marijuana - to treat glaucoma or to counteract the side-effects of chemotherapy - while still being subject to criminal prosecution by the federal government.
The case, United States vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers" Cooperative, presented a narrow issue: Is there a "medical exception" to the federal statute outlawing the manufacture or distribution of marijuana? The court's answer: No.Although all eight justices participating in the case agreed on that narrow point, Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by two others, parted company with Justice Clarence Thomas" majority opinion, saying it went too far. Whereas the federal statute in question outlaws the manufacture and distribution of marijuana, Stevens said, the question of personal use was not an issue in the case.Stevens did not say how one might legitimately obtain a substance whose manufacture and distribution are outlawed. It is worth noting, however, that federal authorities in California got a court injunction to halt distribution of the drug to approved patients rather than charging the Oakland cooperative with a crime. In a community that overwhelmingly supported the medical-marijuana initiative, the odds weren't good for finding jurors who would vote to convict.While the California ruling does not move the ball forward on the controversy over decriminalizing marijuana, even for legitimate medical treatment, it exposes the huge divide between federal officials who write the laws and a growing body of public opinion that approves medicinal use of marijuana.Unlike Supreme Court decisions based on constitutional questions, however, Congress can easily reverse this decision by passing a simple amendment to the controlled-substances act that recognizes a medical exception for marijuana.It should do just that. Note: A simple change in the law would respect voters in seven states.Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Published: June 6, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Des Moines Register. Contact: letters news.dmreg.com Website: http://www.dmregister.com/ OCBC Versus U.S. Government News http://freedomtoexhale.com/mj.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by Rambler on June 06, 2001 at 19:24:05 PT
fun
Right on Rabblerouser.I bet you are a cool dad.It's so true.Adjusting ones tolerances is not that difficult.
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Comment #1 posted by rabblerouser on June 06, 2001 at 18:16:55 PT
"A simple change in the law would respect voters..
...in seven states."My number two son said to me one day, "Dad, you know what I say when I'm not on theschool ground? "What?", I asked. With no delay in his reply and at the top of his lungs hepiped, " I'm having goddamn, fucking fun." That was that and I laughed. We are all like that.We just don't know it. We can raise our tolerances; It's easy and it is fun.
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