Move Toward "Medicalization" Grows In US, Internationally

Americans for Safe Access Takes Government to Court Over Medical Marijuana Misinformation

Back in 2004, medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) "filed a petition under the Data Quality Act seeking to force the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] to correct its statements that marijuana has no accepted medical use in the United States," writes the author of an April 17 Drug War Chronicle feature ("ASA in Federal Appeals Court Seeking to Force Government to Correct Medical Marijuana Misinformation"). After making ASA wait two years for an answer, "HHS rejected [the group's] petition." But ASA would not be stopped so easily. As the Chronicle reports, ASA "then filed suit in federal district court to force HHS to comply, but the trial judge threw out the lawsuit" on the grounds that "the act did not provide for judicial review. ASA then appealed to the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco" and finally got its much deserved day in court on April 14, 2009.

Despite having "vowed to make science -- not ideology -- the basis for federal government policies," lawyers for the Obama administration opposed ASA in federal appeals court. Put simply, administration counsel argued that private parties have no right to challenge governmental information because the law that allows individuals to do so "had 'no judicially enforceable rights' and [...] requires only that agencies review such requests -- not that they act on them." But ASA co-counsel Alan Morrison contended that the "government's position would make the law meaningless," basically barring citizens from exercising their rights to seek the kinds of corrections ASA desires. Although the case has yet to be decided (and has a long road to travel before it can be), the Chronicle reports that Judge Marsha Berzon called the statue "amazing and troubling," telling Assistant US Attorney General Alisa Klein that "the law appears to allow people affected by government misinformation to get it corrected, under court order if necessary." According to ASA and other drug policy reform advocates, medical marijuana patients undoubtedly fall under the rubric of "people affected by government misinformation."

As with most such lawsuits, this case will not be settled in the near future. However, ASA spokesman Kris Hermes told the Chronicle that "an eventual victory [...] could help lay the foundations for moving marijuana off Schedule I as a dangerous drug with no accepted medical use."

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Medical Marijuana Petition Drive Under Way in Florida

According to an April 1, 2009 article in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze, "Advocates across the state are trying to legalize medical marijuana in Florida" by "circulating a petition for the 2010 electoral ballot" ("Group Pushing for Legalization of Medical Marijuana in Florida"). The petition drive is being organized, primarily online, by People United for Medical Marijuana. Kim Russell, the group's chairperson, "started the initiative after her father was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and denied medical marijuana, even though it[s use] would have prevented him from [undergoing] brain surgery." She told the Breeze that "This isn't an option for him [...]. He had an option of moving to one of the 13 states where [medicinal cannabis] is legal." However, Russell hopes to expand the options available to her father and the many other ill Floridians who she claims are not only clamoring for access to medical marijuana but are also "willing to stand up, put their faces on camera and show what a sick person looks like" to anyone seeking to "bring forward a backlash of negative sentiment" against the proposal. Russell stated that "There is absolute support [for the initiative in Florida], we just have to get everyone organized." In fact, the PUFMM chairperson "said public opinion polls [...] have shown that 72 percent to 80 percent of respondents are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana."

People United for Medical Marijuana additionally refuses to limit its activism to the ballot initiative. The group also hopes that, by "asking people to write their representatives," the state could implement a medical marijuana program through the legislative process. In fact, the group would prefer it that way. As Russell said, "We are hoping they will submit a bill rather than a ballot initiative," though she gave no specific reasons as to why the group prefers the latter option.

If you live or have friends and family in Florida, the petition form is easily accessible in PDF form here. You might also want to write your local representative regarding PUFMM's desired legislative route toward medical marijuana legalization.

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Drug Enforcement Administration Raids San Francisco Dispensary, Calling Holder's Promise into Question

On March 26, 2009 Scientific American wrote on its 60-Second Science Blog, "Medical marijuana advocates are up in arms over [the previous day's] federal raid of a marijuana provider in northern California, claiming that the action is at odds with a policy change announced last week by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder." The raid occurred on March 25 at Emmalyn's California Cannabis Clinic in San Francisco, CA; DEA agents "confiscat[ed] marijuana plants, lights, and other cultivation equipment as about a dozen people protested outside."

Under Holder's promised policy shift, federal agencies would no longer meddle in state matters by raiding medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives in states where such facilities are legal, as long as the provider in question is operating according to state and municipal ordinances. Although a spokesperson for the DEA "told the Associated Press that the clinic may be in violation of federal and state laws," Scientific American reports that "Emmalyn's had [...] been operating under a temporary permit issued by the San Francisco Department of Health," which begs questions regarding the legitimacy of the DEA's claim. The Administration's refusal to more fully discuss the matter also raises skepticism; despite claiming that, "Based on our investigation, we believe there are not only violations of federal law [going on at Emmalyn's], but state law as well," the DEA never "elaborate[d] on the specific alleged violations, according to a March 26 article by San Francisco's CBS affiliate ("Med Pot Advocates Decry Fed Raid on SF Dispensary").

The raid led the Marijuana Policy Project's Bruce Mirken to "[sound] a skeptical note about whether anything had really changed" under the new regime, though he tentatively allowed the Obama administration the benefit of the doubt. As he stated, "It could be simply dead-enders in the Justice Department trying to conduct, essentially, business as usual and dressing it up in language that seems appropriate to the new attorney general." He told the San Francisco media outlet that "We just don't know." Stephen Gutwillig, speaking for the Drug Policy Alliance, "accused the DEA of being 'up to its old tactics.'" He stressed that "San Francisco sets the standard for medical marijuana dispensary regulation [...]. Surely, state and local authorities are capable of policing their own system, just as the Feds surely have more pressing issues to address."

Americans for Safe Access hosts dozens of pictures of the raid on their page dedicated to the event. Students for Sensible Drug Policy even produced a video of the event, viewable below.

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Obama Will Not Tolerate Federal DEA Raids

Raids intensified under former President Bush with nearly one hundred paramilitary style raids at medical cannabis facilities. According to the Washington Times February 5, 2009 article, ("Bush Holdovers at DEA Continue Pot Raids") "Drug Enforcement Administration agents this week raided four medical marijuana shops in California, contrary to President Obama's campaign promises to stop the raids. The White House said it expects those kinds of raids to end once Mr. Obama nominates someone to take charge of DEA, which is still run by Bush administration holdovers. 'The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind,' White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said."

The article adds, "Medical use of marijuana is legal under the law in California and a dozen other states, but the federal government under President Bush, bolstered by a 2005 Supreme Court ruling, argued that federal interests trumped state law. Dogged by marijuana advocates throughout the campaign, Mr. Obama repeatedly said he was opposed to using the federal government to raid medical marijuana shops, particularly because it was an infringement on states' decisions. 'I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue,' Mr. Obama told the Mail Tribune newspaper in Oregon in March, during the Democratic primary campaign. He told the newspaper the 'basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate.' Mr. Obama is still filling key law enforcement posts. For now, DEA is run by acting Administrator Michele Leonhart, a Bush appointee."

California Issues Medical Marijuana Guidelines

The state of California has issued guidelines designed to help patients, caregivers, and law enforcement navigate their way through that state's medical marijuana law.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Aug. 26, 2008 ("California Attorney General Issues Medical Marijuana Guidelines") that "Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown issued an 11-page directive intended to help legitimate patients avoid arrest while giving police the tools to distinguish legal medical marijuana operations from illegal cultivators and criminal middlemen. He suggested his new 'road map' would serve as a shield against the federal government, which has waged war against the state's pot rules by conducting raids and mounting court challenges. 'Hopefully the feds will back off in instances where people are really following these guidelines,' Brown said Monday in a telephone interview. The guidelines affirm the legality of many of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries, but only those operated as collectives or cooperatives and not in business for profit."

According to the Times, "An unlikely coalition of police and medical marijuana activists welcomed the new guidelines, the first substantial directive from a state agency since voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996. 'As far as I'm concerned, I give this two thumbs up,' said Kevin Reed of the Green Cross, a collective in San Francisco. 'If you're in it for profit, you shouldn't be in medical cannabis.' 'This is huge,' said Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a pro-medical marijuana group. 'Hopefully this will send a message to the federal government that California doesn't intend to deter from the course it has set.' The federal government maintains a strict prohibition against marijuana as medicine, and for more than a decade it has made California -- which has an estimated 200,000 cannabis-using patients - -- the principal beachhead in the battle against medical marijuana. Federal officials at the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not return calls for comment. Police, meanwhile, welcomed Brown's guidelines, saying they shed light on what had often seemed to them a shadowy world. 'We have been operating in the dark for many years,' said Jerry Dyer, Fresno's chief of police and president of the California Police Chiefs Assn.

The Times noted that "Brown's guidelines urge patients to apply for state-sanctioned medical marijuana ID cards -- and advise police to accept authenticated cards as proof of medical need. Patients are prohibited from using cannabis near schools and recreation centers or at work, unless an employer gives permission. Police, meanwhile, must return seized cannabis to patients who are later proved legitimate. Brown takes a notably hard line on for-profit dispensaries. Scores of storefront operations have sprouted up, often with business owners running virtual emporiums of cannabis. Under the attorney general's guidelines, they must operate as not-for-profit collectives or cooperatives, and establishments are prohibited from buying marijuana from illegal, commercial growers. Instead, the marijuana must be grown by patients or their caregivers, with fees limited to covering overhead and operating expenses."

A copy of the CA AG's guidelines is available by clicking here.

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State Appeals Court Upholds California Medical Cannabis Law

A California state appeals court has upheld that state's medical cannabis law. The court dismissed a challenge filed by two counties against the law and against the state's patient ID program.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Aug. 1, 2008 ("California's Pot Law Upheld In Appeals Court") that "The Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego dismissed challenges by San Diego and San Bernardino counties, which objected both to the 1996 marijuana initiative and to recent legislation requiring counties to issue identification cards to users of medical pot. The cards protect their holders from arrest by state or local police for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government can enforce its drug laws, which ban marijuana use and cultivation, against patients and their suppliers in California and the 11 other states that have legalized medical marijuana under their own laws. But in Thursday's ruling, the appeals court said states remain free to decide whether to punish drug users under their own laws. 'The ( federal ) law does not compel the states to impose criminal penalties for marijuana possession,' said Justice Alex McDonald in the 3-0 ruling, which upheld a Superior Court judge's decision."

According to the Chronicle, "San Diego County's lawyer, Senior Deputy County Counsel Thomas Bunton, said county supervisors may decide by next week whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court. He said a future appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is also possible. 'We think the court should have found that California's medical marijuana laws are pre-empted by the federal law,' Bunton said. 'We think ( the ID card law ) requires us to issue cards in support of conduct that violates federal law.' Advocacy groups that joined the state in defense of its law said the ruling shows that states are free to chart their own course on medical marijuana. The decision "provides yet further confirmation that states need not march in lockstep with federal policy," said Adam Wolf, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing the National Association for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He said the court issued 'a stinging rebuke to the misguided attempt of a few rogue counties to undermine the will of California's voters and the well-being of thousands of sick and dying patients.'"

The Chronicle noted that "In a separate case Thursday, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento became the second to declare unconstitutional a 2003 state law that limited the amount of marijuana a patient could possess for medical use and remain exempt from prosecution. The ruling would leave those decisions up to local governments, or to local prosecutors and juries in counties that lacked an official standard. The law, part of the same legislation that established the state-approved identification cards, allowed patients to possess up to 8 ounces of dried marijuana, or up to six mature marijuana plants or 12 immature plants, unless a doctor had recommended greater amounts to meet the patient's needs. The Third District Court ruled that the law conflicted with the 1996 medical marijuana initiative, Proposition 215, which set no numerical limits on the amount of marijuana a patient could possess. An appeals court in Los Angeles reached the same conclusion in May, a ruling that Attorney General Jerry Brown's office has appealed to the state Supreme Court."

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San Diego and San Bernardino Counties Renew Fight Against Medical Cannabis Patients

San Diego and San Bernardino Counties were in the California Court of Appeals in June, continuing their fight against medical cannabis patients.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported on June 11, 2008 ("San Bernardino, San Diego Counties in Court Over Medical Marijuana") that "San Bernardino and San Diego counties argued in court Tuesday that California's medical marijuana plan violates federal law and the state constitution, while opposing attorneys argued the state is within its rights to regulate the substance. The exchanges came in a crowded courtroom before a three-judge panel of the state 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego. The jurists took the matter under submission and have 90 days to make their ruling. Their decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court."

According to the Press-Enterprise, "The two counties are not trying to overturn that initiative. But they argue that subsequent legislation, the Medical Marijuana Program, which created a system for counties to investigate applicants, issue user cards and keep those on file, puts the counties in direct conflict with the federal Controlled Substances Act. San Bernardino County has not issued any user cards as officials await the outcome of the lawsuit. Since January 2006, Riverside County has issued 1,000 cards to patients and their caregivers. That number includes renewals, which must be done annually."

The Press-Enterprise reported that "Attorney Joseph D. Elford of Americans for Safe Access, representing medical marijuana patients, noted that neither they nor the federal government had litigated against the state marijuana laws. 'Instead, the challenge has come from two subdivisions of the state,' he said. Peter A. Krause for the state attorney general's office said Congress can clarify which federal laws pre-empt local ones, but 'there is no conflict between the state's limited decriminalized use of marijuana for limited medical practices and the ( federal ) Controlled Substances Act to limit drug abuse and trafficking.' 'It's difficult to tell what they are challenging in this case,' Krause said. 'The counties are essentially seeking an advisory opinion,' he said."

According to the Press-Enterprise, "'There is a big difference between decriminalizing marijuana and authorizing its use ... in violation of federal law,' argued San Diego County senior Deputy Counsel Thomas D. Bunton. 'Congress has declared that marijuana has no medical use, so using marijuana under these circumstances is drug abuse.' But states have long practiced authorizing and enforcing laws that do not match federal law, argued ACLU/NORML attorney Adam B. Wolf. 'The counties' position would imply the invalidity of hundreds, if not thousands, of state statutes,' Wolf told the judges. Wolf quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's comment that there has been countless times where states have not criminalized issues the same way as the federal government. 'It's a bedrock principle of federalism' for states to be allowed to determine issues such as how to regulate marijuana, Wolf said."

The Press-Enterprise noted that "San Bernardino and Merced counties were originally in the lawsuit along with San Diego County. San Diego County Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. ruled in December 2006 that the California marijuana laws were valid and the counties would have to comply. San Diego and San Bernardino counties appealed. Merced County, part of the original suit, voted not to pursue the case and began issuing medical marijuana cards."

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Hep C Victim Ineligible For Transplant Due To Medical Marijuana Use Dies

Timothy Garon was a Seattle-area man suffering from Hepatitis C who had a recommendation for medical marijuana from his physician for pain relief and nausea and also as an appetite stimulant. He was denied a spot on the transplant list at two of his local hospitals, allegedly largely because of his medical marijuana use, Shortly afterward, Tim Garon died.

The Associated Press reported on May 3, 2008 ("Is Medical-Marijuana Use Reason to Deny Someone an Organ Tranplant?") that "Timothy Garon, 56, used marijuana to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C. Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to smoke pot to alleviate nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite -- a use authorized under a Washington state law approved by voters in 1998 -- said he had not known it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant. Garon died Thursday, one week after he said he learned from his doctor that a University of Washington Medical Center committee had again denied him a spot on the liver-transplant list. 'He said I'm going to die, with such conviction,' Garon said then. 'I'm not angry, I'm not mad, I'm just confused.' His death at Bailey-Boushay House, an intensive-care nursing center, was confirmed Friday by his lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, and Alisha Mark, a spokeswoman for Virginia Mason Medical Center, which operates Bailey-Boushay."

The Associated Press reported on April 27, 2008 ("Patients Using Medical Marijuana Can Be Denied Transplants") that "His liver, ravaged by hepatitis C, is failing. Without a new one, his doctors tell him, he will be dead in days. But Garon's been refused a spot on the transplant list, largely because he has used marijuana, even though it was legally approved for medical reasons."

According to AP, "Most transplant centers struggle with how to deal with people who have used marijuana, said Dr. Robert Sade, director of the Institute of Human Values in Health Care at the Medical University of South Carolina. 'Marijuana, unlike alcohol, has no direct effect on the liver. It is however a concern ... in that it's a potential indicator of an addictive personality,' Sade said. The Virginia-based United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the nation's transplant system, leaves it to individual hospitals to develop criteria for transplant candidates. At some, people who use 'illicit substances' -- including medical marijuana, even in states that allow it -- are automatically rejected. At others, such as the UCLA Medical Center, patients are given a chance to reapply if they stay clean for six months. Marijuana is illegal under federal law."

AP noted that "Garon believes he got hepatitis by sharing needles with 'speed freaks' as a teenager. In recent years, he said, pot has been the only drug he's used. In December, he was arrested for growing marijuana. Garon, who has been hospitalized or in hospice care for two months straight, said he turned to the university hospital after Seattle's Harborview Medical Center told him he needed six months of abstinence. The university also denied him but said it would reconsider if he enrolled in a 60-day drug-treatment program. Last week, at the urging of Garon's lawyer, the university's transplant team reconsidered anyway, but it stuck to its decision."

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Barack Obama Speaking About Medical Marijuana

From "He favors long-term timber-payments solution," The Mail-Tribune (Medford, OR), March 23, 2008:

Q: A couple of other issues of interest to Oregonians involve initiatives passed by the voters that have come into conflict with the federal government: physician-assisted suicide and medical marijuana. Do you support those two concepts?

A: I am in favor of palliative medicine in circumstances where someone is terminally ill. ... I'm mindful of the legitimate interests of states to prevent a slide from palliative treatments into euthanasia. On the other hand, I think that the people of Oregon did a service for the country in recognizing that as the population gets older we've got to think about issues of end-of-life care. ...

As for medical marijuana ... I'm not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed, but I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate. ...

I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue.

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Major American Physicians Organization Endorses Medical Marijuana

The American College of Physicians has endorsed easing restrictions on medical marijuana. From their webpage: "Additional research is needed to further clarify the therapeutic value of cannabinoids and determine optimal routes of administration. Unfortunately, research expansion has been hindered by a complicated federal approval process, limited availability of research-grade marijuana, and the debate over legalization. ACP believes the science on medical marijuana should not be obscured or hindered by the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana for general use." The ACP's full position paper on the subject is available by clicking here.

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Marijuana Vending Machines

A new vending machine product is now available in California: medical marijuana. However, according to the January 29, 2008 Los Angeles Daily News ("Marijuana machines could be cure for inconvenience")'Not just anyone can pop some coins in and get some bud. The machine, developed by Los Angeles medical-marijuana dispensary owner Vincent Mehdizadeh, gives up to an ounce of pot per week only to preapproved patients. The specialized machine installed Monday at Herbal Nutrition Center - a medical-marijuana dispensary on La Cienega Boulevard - requires fingerprint identification as well as a special prepaid card."

The article states, "Mehdizadeh's machine is far from the standard potato-chip model. The black, armored box is bolted to the floor at the entrance to the dispensary. It has a card swiper, a video camera that also takes a snapshot of any user and adds it to a database, and is protected by armed security guards.Mehdizadeh said he has been trying to reach out to City Council members and persuade them that the machine is a key way to regulate the industry because it includes an automatic database. Mehdizadeh said the machines also could allow dispensaries to sell pot at lower prices because of reduced overhead costs."

"But even some of the most devoted defenders of medical marijuana question the idea of pot vending machines. 'This is bittersweet in that it shows great entrepreneurship - but opens up terrific avenues of ridicule,' said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. St. Pierre said that whatever happens, Mehdizadeh's machine will likely be a milestone in the medical-marijuana movement.'Of the little benchmarks over a 15-year period, this machine will probably be one of them,' he said. 'Whether they continue to exist or not."

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Smoke a Joint, Lose a Job: CA Supreme Court Rules Employers Can Fire Workers for Medical Marijuana Use

The California Supreme Court has ruled that a positive drug test arising from medical marijuana use can be grounds for termination of employment.

The LA Times reported on Jan. 25, 2008 (Workers Can Be Fired For Using Medical Pot Off Duty, Court Rules) that "The California Supreme Court weakened the effect of the state's beleaguered medical marijuana law, ruling Thursday that employers may fire workers for using physician-recommended marijuana while off duty, even if it did not hurt their job performance. Supporters of medical marijuana immediately criticized the court's 5-2 ruling, saying it undermined the 1996 law, which prohibits the state from criminalizing the medical use of the drug. Hundreds of medical marijuana users have complained that they have been fired, threatened with termination or not hired by California companies because of their drug use, according to one advocacy group. In siding with employers, the California Supreme Court said the Compassionate Use Act passed by voters and later amended by the Legislature imposed no requirements on employers."

According to the Times, "The court majority upheld the firing of Gary Ross, an Air Force veteran whose doctor recommended marijuana for chronic back pain stemming from an injury in the military and whose disability qualified him for government benefits. Ross, 45, was hired by RagingWire Telecommunications Inc. in 2001 as a systems engineer. Before taking a required drug test, Ross provided a copy of his physician's recommendation for marijuana. The company fired him a week after he started the job because his test revealed that he had used marijuana. Ross sued the company on the grounds that it failed to accommodate his disability as required under a state anti-discrimination law. He contended that he had worked without any problems at other jobs in the same field since becoming a medical marijuana user. Lower courts, however, sided with the employer."

The Times noted that "Attorney Robert M. Pattison, who represented RagingWire Telecommunications, a Sacramento data center, said the ruling resolved questions that have troubled employers about the use of medical marijuana and did "not at all" eviscerate the marijuana law. 'In fact, the court makes it clear that the point here is the medical marijuana law doesn't address employment,' Pattison said."

Download a copy of the CA Supreme Court's decision in this case.

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DEA Threatens Los Angeles Landlords To Force Closure Of Dispensaries

The US Drug Enforcement Administration is threatening landlords in Los Angeles with seizure of their property and possible prison terms for renting to cannabis dispensaries. The Pasadenia Star-News reported on July 14, 2007 ("Pot Dispensaries Could Be Shut") that "County medical marijuana dispensaries are at risk of being shut down since landlords received a letter from a federal agency telling them they could lose their property or face up to 20 years in prison. 'Federal law allows for the seizure of assets, including real property, which have been used in conjunction with the distribution of controlled substances,' states the Drug Enforcement Administration letter, which was sent out last week in Los Angeles County. The letter also contends federal laws 'take precedence' over state laws, such as Proposition 215 and SB 420, which allow for medical marijuana use. Managers from at least two collectives say they might have to close their doors."

According to the Star-News, "Sarah Pullen, DEA spokeswoman, said the letters should not be viewed as a threat. 'We are literally just serving notice that these property owners are violating the law,' said Pullen. The DEA has not filed charges against any landowner at this point, according to Pullen. Chris Fusco of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group, said that landlords he had talked to were nervous but that he did not expect further action from the DEA. 'It is a little frightening,' he said. 'But if they intended to follow through on this, they already would have.' Pullen would not disclose how many property owners the DEA sent the letter to, but Fusco says the letter has gone out to at least 30 that he knows of. 'It's a shame that the DEA would use techniques on medical marijuana that are normally reserved for crack houses and meth labs,' said Fusco."

The Star-News noted that "The District Attorney's Office was not informed of the letters, according to spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons. Lt. Jim Whitten, of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Narcotics bureau, also said that he had not heard of the letters. The letter was not the first time that DEA took action against county dispensaries without notifying local authorities. In January, the DEA raided 11 dispensaries, detained 20 people, and seized thousands of pounds of marijuana. Despite the letter, some dispensaries are not worrying about whether they will stay open. 'At this point I am less concerned about my collective than about the effect on the entire community of medical marijuana patients,' said Josie, a manager at the Karma Collective in Van Nuys, who says her landlord has been 'supportive' of the dispensary."

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RI Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto Of Medical Marijuana Program

A bill to make Rhode Island's state medical marijuana program "permanent" has passed into law over the veto of Governor Donald Carcieri. The Drug War Chronicle reported on June 22, 2007 ("Rhode Island Legislature Overrides Veto to Make Law Permanent") that "On Wednesday, the Senate voted 29-4 to override, and on Thursday, the House followed suit with a lopsided 58-11 vote. Legislators last year passed a medical marijuana -- also vetoed by Carcieri and overridden -- but that law included a sunset provision. Without action by the legislature, it would have expired on June 30."

According to the Chronicle, ""The fact that this override passed by an even larger margin than the original override last year says everything you need to know about how well the law has worked, and how completely uncontroversial it's been," said Ray Warren, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. The national group worked with state residents organized into the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition to achieve victory in the legislature."

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Rell To Patients: Forget About It

Legislation in Connecticut which would have allowed patients in need to have legal access to their medicine was vetoed in mid-June. The Hartford Courant reported on June 20, 2007 ("Rell Vetoes Marijuana Bill") that "Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have legalized the medical use of marijuana, saying that the bill was a well-intended, but flawed attempt to alleviate suffering. "I am not unfamiliar with the incredible pain and heartbreak associated with battling cancer," said Rell, who was treated for breast cancer 2 1/2 years ago. "I have struggled with the decision about signing or vetoing this bill." The legislation would have allowed patients with conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis or AIDS to grow up to four marijuana plants in their homes with a doctor's prescription. But in a three-page veto message, Rell said her sympathies for those with unmanageable pain did not overcome her concern that citizens still would have to break the law to obtain marijuana or marijuana seeds. "There are no pharmacies, storefronts or mail order catalogs where patients or caregivers can legally purchase marijuana plants or seeds," Rell said. "I am troubled by the fact that in essence, this bill forces law-abiding citizens to seek out drug dealers to make their marijuana purchases.""

The fact that patients currently have no recourse other than the illegal market, and that the bill would have given those patients protection from prosecution under state law, escaped the Governor.

According to the Courant, "The bill passed easily, 89-58 in the House and 23-13 in the Senate. But supporters are short of the votes necessary for a veto override: 24 in the Senate and 101 in the House. Sen. Andrew J. McDonald, D-Stamford, a proponent, said the veto is the result of Rell's failure to engage the legislature about her objections prior to passage. 'We've been trying to pass this for three years in a complicated legal and medical environment with little or no involvement from the governor or her staff,' McDonald said. McDonald said the bill decriminalized marijuana under narrow circumstances for patients unable to find relief from standard pharmacology."

The Courant noted that " During the House debate, Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, said she bought marijuana for her husband when he was dying of bone cancer. Bacchiochi, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, said then: 'This bill is about our choice, our right and our responsibility to say we no longer choose to arrest sick people.'"

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New York State Assembly Approves Medical Marijuana Legislation

The New York State Assembly passed a measure to legalize medical marijuana in that state. Differences with the State Senate on the other hand may hamstring efforts. The New York Times reported on June 14, 2007 ("Legislators Grapple Over How To Legalize Medical Marijuana Use,") that "In New York, the Democratic-led Assembly passed a bill on Wednesday that would give doctors the authority to grant eligible patients a certification allowing them to legally acquire and use marijuana or to grow up to a dozen plants at a time. 'Thousands of New Yorkers with serious life-threatening conditions could get significant medical benefit from the use of marijuana,' said Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat. But it is not clear how these plants, or the seeds to grow them, would be acquired. The Assembly's bill says only that it would be lawful to give patients marijuana or seeds if 'nothing of value is transferred in return.'"

According to the Times however, "Senator Vincent N. Leibell, a Republican whose district includes Putnam County and parts of Westchester and Dutchess Counties, said he would introduce legislation that would take a different approach. He said he would prefer that the state's Health Department be in charge of growing and dispensing marijuana. "The key issue is control," he said. "How do you control manufacture, and how do you control dispensement? Those are the two issues that'll be out there." The Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, said that he supported the idea - he has supported efforts to legalize marijuana for medical use in the past - but that "the Assembly version doesn't work." He said he believed there was enough time left in the session to work out the differences, though lawmakers are grappling with a wide variety of issues in the five remaining days of the session."

The Times noted that "Mr. Spitzer, the former attorney general, has in the past been opposed to the idea. But he said on Tuesday that he had rethought his position. 'On many issues, hopefully you learn, you study, you evolve,' the governor said. 'This is one where I had, as a prosecutor, a presumption against the use of any narcotic which wasn't designed purely for medicinal and medical effect, and now there are ways that have persuaded me that it can be done properly.' But the governor said he would sign the bill only if it were 'properly structured'; he did not elaborate."

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Michigan Medical Marijuana Initiative Petition Approved For Circulation

An initiative petition to allow patients in need to have access to medical marijuana has been approved for circulation in the state of Michigan. The Lansing State Journal reported on June 7, 2007 ("Medical Marijuana Petition Approved") that "An effort to legalize marijuana for medical use in Michigan cleared a key procedural hurdle Wednesday. A state elections board approved the form of petitions being circulated by the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care. The group still needs to collect at least 304,101 valid signatures of Michigan voters within six months to send its issue to state lawmakers. If state lawmakers vote to accept the proposal, it becomes part of Michigan law. If the Legislature doesn't vote on the measure or rejects it, the initiative would appear on the November 2008 ballot."

According to the State Journal, "Campaign organizers want to collect about 550,000 signatures to make sure they will have enough valid ones when it comes time to certify their petitions. Michigan law prohibits marijuana use for any reason. But a dozen other states permit medicinal use by patients. Voters in five Michigan cities - Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale, Flint and Traverse City - have passed ballot initiatives allowing for medicinal marijuana use in the past few years. The votes were mostly symbolic, however, since state and federal laws prohibit use of the drug."

The State Journal noted that "The statewide Michigan initiative would allow patients to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for relief from pain associated with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other diseases. A doctor's approval or recommendation would be required to use the drug. Registry cards would be created so law enforcement personnel could tell who was a registered patient with the OK to use the drug."

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Legislature Expected To Override Governor's Veto In Rhode Island

As expected, Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri vetoed the medical marijuana legislation which reached his desk recently. Proponents have enough votes to override the governor. The Providence Journal reported June 5, 2007 ("Carcieri Vetoes Medical Marijuana") that "As expected, Governor Carcieri yesterday vetoed medical marijuana legislation. And Democratic House leader Gordon Fox said he believes state lawmakers will override that veto."

According to the Journal, "51 of 75 House members endorsed the measure. Forty-five votes, or three-fifths, are required to overturn a veto. The bill, known as the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act, calls for permanently extending the medical marijuana law, which was due to expire this year under a sunset clause. 'I fully expect that we will place a vote to override the governor's medical marijuana veto on the floor calendar before the end of our session,' Fox said in a statement anticipating the veto. A prior vote on the bill 'made it clear that there is an overwhelming majority in the House willing to remove the sunset clause on this compassionate legislation.'"

The Journal noted that under the legislation, "A patient diagnosed as having a debilitating medical condition would be allowed to possess up to 12 marijuana plants and 2.5 ounces of marijuana. An adult who has agreed to help an ill person's medical use of marijuana - a caregiver - could have 12 plants and 2.5 ounces of marijuana for each of up to five qualified patients."

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Connecticut Medical Marijuana Legislation Goes To Governor For Approval

Legislation to allow patients in need to have access to medical marijuana has passed both houses of the state legislature and is on the way to the governor for approval. The Stamford Advocate reported on June 2, 2007 ("Medical Marijuana Bill Wins OK") that "The state Senate, in a 23-13 bipartisan vote, last night approved a bill to legalize the medical use of marijuana to relieve the suffering of patients with debilitating conditions such as cancer or AIDS. The legislation, approved May 23 by the House, 89-58, heads to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature. If the legislation becomes law, Connecticut will become the 13th state to allow the palliative use of marijuana despite the federal prohibition against it. 'She'll read it thoroughly and think it over,' Rell spokesman Adam Liegeot said."

According to the Advocate, "State Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, introduced the legislation on the Senate floor. But the four other senators from southwestern Connecticut - Bob Duff, D-Norwalk; Judith Freedman, R-Westport; John McKinney, R-Fairfield; and William Nickerson, R-Greenwich - opposed the bill. The legislation passed last night would allow a doctor to certify an adult patient's use of marijuana after determining he or she has a debilitating condition and could potentially benefit from marijuana. Patients and their primary caregivers would then register with the state Department of Consumer Protection. The patient and the primary caregiver would be limited to growing no more than four plants, each having a maximum height of 4 feet, in an indoor secure facility."

The Advocate noted that "McDonald said afterward: 'It would still be illegal under federal law, although I can't point to one case in the country where the federal government has arrested somebody for purchasing marijuana seeds for medicinal purposes.' He said the bill could be challenged in federal court. 'But now we're going to have 13 states,' he said. 'I'm pretty certain we're close to a tipping point where the FDA will be forced into a position of funding studies they've consistently refused to undertake.'"

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Vermont Broadens Its Medical Marijuana Law

The Vermont State Legislature has passed a measure expanding the state's medical marijuana law. The bill will be enacted without the governor's signature. The Burlington Free Press reported on June 1, 2007 ("Medical Marijuana Law Expanded") that "Steve Perry of Randolph Center welcomed news Thursday that a bill expanding eligibility for the state's medical marijuana registry would become law -- even though the governor refused to sign it. Perry copes with a degenerative joint condition that causes severe pain and muscle spasms. Traditional painkillers fail to provide relief, he said, but marijuana has helped. Now he will be able to register with the Department of Public Safety and have protection from state prosecution while using the otherwise illegal drug. The bill broadened the eligibility established in Vermont's 2004 law by allowing those with chronic debilitating conditions, not just life-threatening diseases, to participate in the program. It also increases the number of plants that participants may grow at home and reduces the annual registration fee from $100 to $50. The marijuana bill is the fifth piece of legislation Gov. Jim Douglas has allowed to become law this year without his signature. Jason Gibbs, the governor's spokesman, said that generally Douglas exercises this option when he doesn't agree with the policy but recognizes a measure has strong support in the Legislature."

According to the Free Press, "'Why wouldn't he veto it if that is the way he really feels?' asked Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin, D-Windham. 'This is a wimp-out position.' Shumlin criticized the governor for using the no-sign option so frequently. Senate Majority Leader John Campbell, D-Windsor, agreed. 'I think what it says is that there was a lack of communication on many of the issues we were dealing with,' Campbell said. 'I would hope in the next session, if he or his staff have problems, we would have more in-depth conversations.'"

The Free Press noted that "Even with the new changes, 'it is still going to be very conservative compared to some of the other states,' said Dan Bernath, assistant communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project. Campbell championed the expansion of eligibility and relaxation of the limits on the number of plants. A former police officer, he said he understood the governor's concern about passing legislation contrary to federal law. 'We chose to look at the human side, to take a compassionate view.'"

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Ed Rosenthal Convicted In Retrial But Will Not Face More Punishment

Noted author and marijuana legalization advocate Ed Rosenthal was found guilty by a federal jury in his retrial on marijuana cultivation charges. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on May 30, 2007 ("Pot advocate convicted on three charges but 'ganja guru' won't face further punishment") that "Marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal was convicted for a second time today of violating federal drug laws by growing pot plants for medical patients, but he faces no punishment for the felony convictions, apart from the one day in jail that he has already served. Rosenthal, 62, of Oakland, a well-known authority on cannabis cultivation, former columnist for High Times magazine and author of a recent book calling for legalization of marijuana, was convicted by a federal jury in San Francisco of three charges of illegal cultivation and conspiracy after a day of deliberations. He was acquitted of a fourth charge, and the jury deadlocked on a fifth charge."

According to the Chronicle, "A separate jury had convicted Rosenthal of similar charges in 2003, but the verdict was overturned by an appeals court because of misconduct by a juror who called a lawyer for advice during deliberations. The charges normally carry a sentence of at least five years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer imposed only a one-day sentence, saying Rosenthal had believed he was acting legally because Oakland had designated him as its agent in the city's medical marijuana program. Federal prosecutors tried to add charges of money-laundering and tax evasion for the retrial, but Breyer refused, saying the government was retaliating for Rosenthal's criticism of the case and his successful appeal. Prosecutors proceeded with the second trial, rejecting the judge's suggestion that they drop the case, but conceded that they could not seek additional punishment for Rosenthal."

The Chronicle noted that "In both trials, Breyer barred evidence that the marijuana was intended for medical use under Proposition 215, the 1996 California initiative allowing patients to use the drug with their doctor's approval. He also excluded evidence about Rosenthal's designation as an agent by the city of Oakland. Left without a defense, Rosenthal's lawyers called no witnesses at the retrial, and instead argued that the prosecution's case was tainted by the testimony of some of Rosenthal's former friends and business partners who had been granted leniency. Because of the judge's rulings, 'The jury was not allowed to hear valuable information it needed to make an unbiased and fair decision,' Rosenthal said today after the verdict. His defense lawyers said they would ask Breyer to throw out the convictions."

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Connecticut House Passes Medical Marijuana Bill

The Connecticut State House of Representatives approved legislation allowing patients in need to have access to medical marijuana. The Journal-Inquirer reported on May 24, 2007 ("Medical Marijuana Scores House Win") that "The fight to legalize marijuana use for medicinal purposes scored a big win Wednesday when it cleared the House of Representatives by 31 votes. The measure, which now heads to the Senate, was approved 89-58 after more than six hours of debate. 'We have the opportunity to give relief to Connecticut residents who are sick, who are dying, who are wasting away, who are losing their quality of life,' Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, said. 'And we can tell those Connecticut residents that the state of Connecticut no longer will prosecute you.' Over the past five years, Bacchiochi has become the legislature's leading advocate for legalizing marijuana use for those suffering from certain illnesses and injuries that cause prolonged, debilitating pain, such as cancer and multiple sclerosis."

According to the Journal-Inquirer, "Wednesday's win in the House might give legalization advocates their best chance yet of changing the law. In 2003, the House rejected a bill to legalize medicinal use by 15 votes. One year later advocates gained a small win when a legalization amendment narrowly was approved in the House, but the bill it was attached to subsequently was scrapped and never escaped that chamber. The marijuana legalization debate took a different route in 2005, starting in the Senate, which approved a bill by two votes. The House never took it up. If Senate approval can be obtained for the measure before the 2007 legislative session ends June 6, the bill would go to Gov. M. Jodi Rell's desk."

The Journal-Inquirer noted that "Rell said she hasn't decided whether to sign the measure, and made it clear she has some concerns with the bill as it currently stands. If the bill limited marijuana use to terminally ill patients, 'everyone would feel better about the language,' Rell said. But the governor quickly added she has mixed emotions, noting that many people have watched a family member or other loved one suffer from a painful illness. 'You would do anything in your power to alleviate that pain,' Rell said."

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Rhode Island Legislature Poised To Make Medical Marijuana Program Permanent

The State of Rhode Island's medical marijuana program could soon be made permanent. Legislation has passed both houses by large enough margins to survive a threatened veto by Governor Donald Carcieri. The Pawtucket Times reported on May 4, 2007 ("Marijuana Law Gets Senate Nod") that "Following in the footsteps of Wednesday's House vote, the Senate approved legislation Thursday to make the state's medical marijuana law permanent. The vote was 28-5, far exceeding the three-fifths vote required to survive the veto Gov. Donald Carcieri says is likely to come. The law that protects from arrest or prosecution patients who suffer from a debilitating medical condition as certified by a physician and one or two "caregivers" who help them procure, grow or use the drug, was passed over the governor's veto in January, 2006, it is set to expire on June 30 unless a so-called "sunset clause" is eliminated. The now-identical measures that passed the House and Senate this week do just that. Under General Assembly procedure, the House bill will now go to the Senate for passage and the Senate bill will go to the House. Then both bills will go to Carcieri, who said if the measures are similar to what was passed last year, which they are, he would probably veto them. He must do that within six days ( excluding Sundays ) from the date he receives the bills from the respective chambers."

According to the Times, "The bill is titled The Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act. Hawkins, who died three years ago of AIDS, was Perry's nephew and she said it was his struggle with the disease that inspired her to push for the legislation. Rep. Thomas Slater, himself a cancer patient, is the prime sponsor of the House bill. The law makes no provision for patients to obtain the drug, so they must buy it illegally on the black market. The law does not shield individuals from arrest or prosecution under federal law. Sen. Charles Levesque told colleagues, "The numerous people who came in and individually told us their experience was they had no desire to go down this road, they had no desire to put their friends down the road of obtaining an illegal substance, putting themselves at risk in doing so. But they said ultimately it was their only form of relief, the only thing that allowed them to eat, to sleep, to find any comfort when they had been suffering from a debilitating disease. "It was beyond my ability to look at these folks and say, I will not be prepared to give you that relief that you are begging us for," Levesque continued. "Boy, if that didn't make me feel humble, that someone had to come and ask me or any of us for that relief." Patients are allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of "useable marijuana" or 12 plants and they may designate one or two caregivers. A caregiver can serve up to five patients, but under amendments approved in both the House and Senate this week, may possess no more than 5 ounces of the drug or 24 plants."

Updates on the status of these bills, HB6005 and SB0791, are available from the Rhode Island General Assembly website and from the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition.

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IL Senate Votes No On Medical Marijuana Bill

The Illinois State Senate voted against SB650, that would have allowed some patients in Illinois to have access to medical marijuana. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on May 11, 2007 ("Illinois Senate Votes Down Medical Marijuana Bill") that "The Illinois Senate, by a narrow 22-29 vote, turned down a bill that would have allowed doctors to prescribe the drug to patients suffering from painful, debilitating conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy. 'This is disappointing,' said Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, the sponsor of the bill. 'I don't think people realize how popular this is in their districts. This is overwhelmingly supported.' Only one Republican, Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, voted for the bill, while 21 of the 37 Democrats voted for it."

According to the Post-Dispatch, "Much of the testimony in committee and debate on the Senate floor revolved around personal stories of chronically ill patients who illegally use marijuana to relieve their pain. 'I don't think sick people should be treated like criminals,' said Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-Moline. 'This is a choice a doctor ought to have' if there's demonstrated benefits of the drug for patients. Cullerton said he would keep working to get a similar bill passed before the Senate is scheduled to adjourn at the end of the month. Only 29 senators — less than half — voted against the bill. Persuading the four senators who voted present and the four who did not vote would give Cullerton the 30 votes needed for the bill to pass."

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MN Senate Passes Medical Marijuana

The Minnesota State Senate voted on May 1, 2007 to approve medical marijuana legislation. The bill, SF0345, passed 33-31.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reported earlier on May 1 ("Legislature Poised To OK Marijuana For Medical Use") that "The House may soon follow - the measure survived its fifth committee hearing today on a 20-14 vote and will soon be on its way to a floor vote. Although there are differences between the House and Senate measures, both essentially would set up a state system allowing qualified patients to receive marijuana from special nonprofit organizations to ease their pain and symptoms. Backers believe that marijuana can help those patients in ways traditional drugs cannot."

According to the Pioneer Press, "Gov. Tim Pawlenty, like many law enforcement organizations, opposes the measure. He has said he will veto it."

The Pioneer Press noted that "To read the House measure, go to www.house.mn and search for hf655."

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New Mexico Approves Medical Marijuana

In early April 2007, New Mexico became the 12th state to approve legislation allowing patients in need to get access to medical marijuana. The Associated Press reported on April 3, 2007 ("Pot Now Legal For Serious Illness") that "Nearly three decades after medical marijuana first was approved in New Mexico, Gov. Bill Richardson on Monday signed a law authorizing the state Department of Health to give the drug to some seriously ill patients. New Mexico became the 12th state to legalize the use of marijuana for medical reasons. Richardson said the new law provides 'a humane option for New Mexicans living with cancer, HIV and other serious medical conditions.' The second-term governor is seeking the 2008 Democratic nomination, and Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico said he is the first presidential candidate to sign medical marijuana into law."

According to the AP, "The law is named in part after Lynn Pierson, a Vietnam veteran who was dying of lung cancer when he lobbied lawmakers for a medical marijuana bill, linked to a research program, that was passed in 1978. Pierson didn't live long enough to use the progam, which provided marijuana to cancer patients to relieve the nausea of chemotherapy. It lost its funding in 1986 and became defunct. Richardson's signing of the bill, which takes effect July 1, drew immediate criticism from White House drug czar John Walters, who had asked the governor not to sign it. Walters in an interview called it 'disappointing' and 'irresponsible.'

The AP noted that "New Mexico's health department will set up the program, which will be overseen by an eight-member board of physicians. Patients with certification from their doctors could apply to the state agency, which would issue identification cards. The health department must obtain the marijuana from production facilities in the state 'housed on secure grounds and operated by licensed producers.' Patients could not grow their own. 'So we have the proper safeguards,' Richardson said at a news conference. The department is supposed to issue rules for the program in the fall. The governor estimated 200 people could use the program. 'It's a humane piece of legislation. It does not mean I support legalizing marijuana,' Richardson said. 'It means that we are alleviating suffering ... and I must tell you, I was overcome by the personal stories of pain and the personal appeals I got.' The governor said he had heard from law enforcement agencies unhappy with the new law, and he acknowledged it may be unpopular with others as well. 'So be it,' he said."

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Angel Raich Loses At Federal Appeals Court

A Federal appeals court in San Francisco turned down an appeal by medical marijuana patient and activist Angel Raich. The New York Times on March 15, 2007 ("Dying Woman Loses Appeal On Marijuana As Medication") reported that "Federal appellate judges here ruled Wednesday that a terminally ill woman using marijuana was not immune to federal prosecution simply because of her condition, and in a separate case a federal judge dismissed most of the charges against a prominent advocate for the medicinal use of the drug. The woman, Angel McClary Raich, says she uses marijuana on doctors' recommendation to treat an inoperable brain tumor and a battery of other serious ailments. Ms. Raich, 41, asserts that the drug effectively keeps her alive, by stimulating appetite and relieving pain, in a way that prescription drugs do not."

According to the Times, "On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that while they sympathized with Ms. Raich's plight and had seen 'uncontroverted evidence' that she needed marijuana to survive, she lacked the legal grounds to exempt herself from federal law. The court 'recognizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes is gaining traction,' the decision read. 'But that legal recognition has not yet reached the point where a conclusion can be drawn that the right to use medical marijuana is 'fundamental.' '"

The Times noted that "Graham Boyd, director of the Drug Law Reform Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has an unrelated medical marijuana case pending before a federal judge in San Jose, said the decision in Ms. Raich's case was a setback for the movement but not a crippling one. 'Today is just one chapter in a story that is still not over,' Mr. Boyd said Robert Raich, Ms. Raich's husband and lawyer, said she might appeal the case to the full Ninth Circuit."

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Flint, MI Approves Medical Marijuana

The city of Flint, MI, voted to allow patients in need to have access to medical marijuana. The Saginaw News reported on March 4, 2007 ("Flint Pot Vote Raises Awareness") that "By a 1,777-1,101 vote, Flint became the fifth Michigan city to approve legally puffing pot for health reasons. Use remains illegal under state and federal law. Officials reminded Flint residents not to start loading up their hookah pipes -- or face the consequences. Other Michigan cities that have approved medical pot-use measures are Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ferndale and Traverse City. Lansing is the next target, says NORML, a pro-marijuana outfit, and the goal is to get a medical dope initiative on the statewide ballot. Medical marijuana use is legal in 11 states."

According to the News, "Whether marijuana is safer or a more effective painkiller than, say, OxyContin is debatable, but some users think so. Cancer patients who have tried it say pot works best at inducing appetite. It has beneficial uses, and we're sympathetic to those who use it legally. The biggest fear coming from law enforcement circles is that legalized medical marijuana use could lead to additional abuse and wider recreational use. Yet the abuse of prescription drugs, the International Narcotics Control Board said last week, is about to exceed the use of "practically all illicit drugs with the exception of cannibis." The board, an offshoot of the United Nations, said the number of Americans abusing prescription drugs nearly doubled between 1992 and 2003, to 15.1 million from 7.8 million people."

The News noted that "A free and compassionate society ought to understand common sense trumps perceptions of a drug that may be less dangerous than prescriptions. It's time to take a deep breath -- inhale -- and place sick people ahead of ideology. The Flint vote and the others before it indicate that more people realize marijuana, like other drugs used properly, is not always evil."

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Vermont Senate To Decide On Medical Marijuana Legislation

The Vermont State Senate will debate legislation to allow authorized medical marijuana patients to grow and possess an adequate supply of cannabis. The Bennington Banner reported on Feb. 21, 2007 ("Senate To See Rx Marijuana Bill") that "A new medical marijuana bill is close to reaching the Senate floor after it unanimously passed in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee Tuesday. Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Sen. Doug Racine, D-Chittenden, said the bill, S.07, introduced by Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, is bound for the Senate Finance Committee because changes to a fee are included in the bill. That is likely to be a formality, however, and the legislation should reach the Senate floor shortly, according Racine. The purpose of the bill is to raise the amount of marijuana a registered patient can possess to six mature plants, 18 immature plants and four ounces of usable marijuana. Current law only allows for one mature plant, two immature plants and two ounces of usable marijuana. In addition, the registration fee for patients would be reduced from $100 to $50."

According to the Banner, " The committee considered two amendments to the bill, approving one Tuesday that will restrict who is eligible to prescribe medical marijuana for a patient, said Racine. In the committee's view, the definition of a physician within the bill needed to be narrowed to protect against abuse, he said. 'We thought the definition was too loose in the bill that was received,' said Racine. According to Racine, the amendment clarifies which out-of-state physicians will be allowed to write a prescription for marijuana. The original version of the bill says that any person that is licensed ... 'and is licensed with authority to prescribe drugs' is considered an eligible physician. The amendment will limit eligible physicians to those that 'practice medicine and prescribe drugs under comparable provisions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York,' said Racine. The committee wanted to accommodate Vermont residents who have doctors or specialists in bordering states, but restrict patients from seeking far-off doctors to write them a prescription, said Racine."

The Banner noted that " Vermont became the 10th state in 2004 to pass medical marijuana legislation and is now one of 11 states that allow medical marijuana use. There are currently has 33 registered patients. Sears' bill also expands the number of conditions that would qualify for medical marijuana. In addition to ailments such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, the bill would allow for patients with glaucoma, cachexia, wasting syndrome and severe pain, nausea or seizures."

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UK Tory Leader David Cameron Endorses Legalization Of Medical Marijuana

David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative (Tory) Party in England, has endorsed the legalization of medical marijuana. The Independent reported on Jan. 22, 2007 ("Cameron Calls For Legalisation Of 'Medical Marijuana') that "David Cameron has supported calls for cannabis to be legalised for medical use provided that clear health benefits can be shown. The Tory leader, who has refused to answer media questions about whether he used drugs before entering politics, ruled out a wider legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. Answering questions on his 'webcameron' website, he said: 'If it can be proved that there are real benefits, medicinal benefits and scientific evidence for it, I would be relaxed about that. My decision would be to licence it if it could be proved to have benefits.' The pledge will be welcomed by campaigners who claim that cannabis can ease the symptoms of illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, but it may worry Tory traditionalists."

According to the Independent, "Mr Cameron will launch a new Tory health policy today vowing to sweep away many of the targets Labour has imposed on the NHS. The Tories will call for all GPs to take control of budgets, currently held by primary care trusts, and be rewarded for improving outcomes. GP fundholding was used by the Tory government before 1997, but it was scrapped by Labour."

The Independent noted that "Mo Mowlam, the former cabinet minister who died in 2005, fought for cannabis to be made legal for medical use. Although the Home Office set up investigations into the drug's possible benefits, the impetus appears to have stalled."

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Court Throws Out County Suit Over Medical Marijuana Law

A lawsuit filed by three counties challenging California's medical marijuana law was rejected. The North County Times reported on Dec. 7, 2006 ("Judge Tosses County's Medical Marijuana Challenge") that "Medical marijuana advocates declared victory and San Diego County officials mentioned the word "appeal" Wednesday when a Superior Court judge rejected -- for the second time -- the county's controversial challenge to overturn California's "Compassionate Use" act. Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt, reaffirming the tentative ruling he issued Nov. 16, rejected the county's argument that California's voter-approved Compassionate Use act should be pre-empted by federal law."

According to the Times, "San Diego County supervisors, in a move that angered local medical marijuana patients and national advocacy groups, voted to try to overturn the law in December 2005. Supervisors said the Compassionate Use act was 'bad law' and would promote drug abuse. But Judge Nevitt, in his final ruling Wednesday, said the county failed to prove that the state law was in legal conflict with the federal law. He also ruled the state law did not 'require' people to break the federal law, as the county's pre-emption argument claimed. Nevitt said the county's pre-emption argument failed because a corollary to the U.S. Constitution's 'Supremacy Clause' -- which says federal law should be 'supreme' over state laws -- says state laws could take precedence over federal laws in some cases."

The Times noted that "John Sansone, the county's top lawyer, said Wednesday afternoon that supervisors would meet in closed session Tuesday to decide whether they want to appeal Nevitt's ruling. Bill Horn, the county board's chairman, did not return calls Wednesday. Sansone, meanwhile, said he would advise the supervisors that he believed an appeal could be successful. Medical marijuana advocacy groups, however, said Nevitt's ruling was clear. They called on the county to immediately obey California's law by issuing identification cards to valid medical marijuana users."

Before their meeting county officials will hear from local residents who support the state's medical marijuana laws. The North County Times reported on Dec. 10, 2006 ("Patients Say They'll Appeal To County Over Medical Marijuana Law") that "The discussion is set to be held behind closed doors. But at least a couple of local medical marijuana users hope to get a chance Tuesday to try to talk county supervisors out of appealing last week's court decision to throw out the county's controversial bid to overturn California's medical marijuana law. 'I want to try to appeal to their humanity,' Vista resident, business owner, husband, father and spinal cord victim Craig McClain said Friday. 'Yes, definitely, I'll be there.' Rudy Reyes, a Cedar fire burn victim, said he also planned to come to Tuesday's meeting to speak. 'I'm going in next week to say, 'Stop it, we don't need you guys to continue with this, it's an abuse of our tax dollars,' ' Reyes said."

The Times reported that "On Tuesday, supervisors will meet for the first time since Nevitt's ruling. They are scheduled to talk in closed session about where they go now on the medical marijuana issue, and whether they should appeal. Supervisors have talked little about the case since the lawsuit was filed last year. But they have hinted all along that they would probably appeal. Last week, board Chairman Bill Horn did not return calls after Nevitt's decision, and supervisors in general did not respond three weeks earlier when Nevitt issued a tentative ruling initially dismissing the county's suit. John Sansone, the county's top lawyer, said last week that he felt that Nevitt's ruling was extremely thorough. But he also said that county lawyers still believed in their legal argument, and felt that an appeal could be successful. Sansone said that was what he would advise county board members Tuesday in closed session, but that it was up to them to decide whether to continue the challenge."

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General Election 2006 – South Dakota Fails To Pass Medical Marijuana Initiative

Voters in the state of South Dakota decided not to pass a medical marijuana initiative on the 2006 general election ballot. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported on Nov. 8, 2006 ( "Support Short For Medical Marijuana") that "A movement to legalize the use of marijuana for medical uses was headed for defeat with partial election results available late Tuesday. South Dakota's Initiated Measure 4 was patterned after laws in 11 states. Passage looked doubtful at 11 p.m. with 141,734 votes against legalized use compared with 127,713 votes in favor, a 53-47 margin, with 743 precincts out of 818 reporting."

According to the Argus Leader, "Those in favor argued in part that marijuana can relieve seriously ill patients' discomfort and even save lives. But under South Dakota law, patients who use it face a year in prison and a $2,000 fine. Support came from a group called South Dakotans for Medical Marijuana. A spokesman, Tony Ryan of Sioux Falls, was a police officer in Denver for 36 years. He has family members who suffer from cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. 'It would be an option,' Ryan said. 'They don't need it now, but there might be a day when they need it.' Valerie Hannah of Deerfield supported passage. She uses marijuana in a vaporized form to ease chronic pain of nerve damage she suffered from nerve gas in the Gulf War. Hannah said legal drugs such as morphine make her feel 'like a zombie' and put her in a stupor. 'If it fails, of course it's a disappointment, and very terrifying,' she said. 'I think we need to provide voters with a better education.'"

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Federal Grand Jury Reindicts Ed Rosenthal

A federal grand jury has reindicted famed cannabis activist and gardening expert Ed Rosenthal. The Oakland Tribune reported on October 13, 2006 ("'Ganja Guru' Reindicted On Pot-Related Charges") that "Oakland 'Guru of Ganja' Ed Rosenthal was reindicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on a host of marijuana-related charges, roughly six months after an appeals court tossed out his earlier convictions. The superseding indictment filed Thursday contains 25 counts against Rosenthal, 61, and two of his original co-defendants, Kenneth Hayes and Richard Watts. Rosenthal faces 14 counts including conspiracy, use of a place to manufacture marijuana for distribution, manufacturing marijuana for distribution, laundering money from marijuana sales, and filing false tax returns. 'I knew they had a grand jury but I didn't know what was going to happen,' Rosenthal said Thursday night. 'What they're trying to do with these indictments and with my continued persecution is to close down all of the dispensaries in California, to deprive people of their medicine.' 'It's not the way I planned to spend my time for the next year but I'm resigned to it,' he said, describing himself as an 'everyman' who won't be cowed. 'Most people considering their circumstances for one reason or another are forced to give in under the weight of government pressure. I'm not only standing up for dispensaries but for all these people who've been harassed and hounded by the government.'"

According to the Tribune, "Famed for his marijuana cultivation books and the "Ask Ed" column he wrote for High Times magazine, Rosenthal was convicted of three marijuana-growing felonies in 2003, more than a year after federal agents raided sites including his Oakland home, an Oakland warehouse in which he was growing marijuana, and a San Francisco medical marijuana club he supplied. Medical use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation is legal under state law but prohibited by federal law, so Rosenthal was barred from mounting a medical defense at trial. Breyer sentenced him to one day behind bars -- time he'd already served. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his convictions in April, finding juror misconduct -- a juror's conversation with an attorney-friend during deliberations -- compromised Rosenthal's right to a fair verdict and so warranted a new trial. But the court also rejected Rosenthal's claim of immunity from prosecution as an officer of Oakland who grew the drug under the city's medical marijuana ordinance. The court in July refused Rosenthal's requests for rehearing or for an "en banc" rehearing by a larger panel."

The Tribune noted that "Watts was arrested and charged in the same 2002 raids which nabbed Rosenthal, but injuries sustained in a car accident have kept him from trial until now. Hayes fled to Canada to avoid prosecution. Thursday's indictment essentially claims Rosenthal from October 2001 through February 2002 conspired with Hayes and Watts to grow marijuana at sites on Sixth Street in San Francisco and on Mandela Parkway in Oakland, laundered marijuana proceeds by buying four money orders totaling $1,854 during that time and falsified tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001 by omitting income from his marijuana distribution. Hayes and Watts face similar, related charges."

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Federal Grand Jury Looks At Ed Rosenthal

Before starting his new trial, Ed Rosenthal has been the subject of a new federal grand jury investigation. The Oakland Tribune reported on Aug. 31, 2006 ("Feds Take Aim At 'Guru Of Ganja'") that "Federal prosecutors not only are preparing to retry Oakland 'Guru of Ganja' Ed Rosenthal, but seem to be searching for more charges to file against him. Rosenthal, 61, was in federal court Wednesday for the first time since his 2003 convictions were overturned earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ordered him to return Sept. 13, when he and attorneys will try to set a trial date. 'The government might want to take a hard look at this case, is my suggestion,' said Breyer as the brief status hearing ended. Outside, Rosenthal's attorney, William Simpich of Oakland, said he took that parting comment to mean the judge believes 'this case should be terminated.' But William Dolphin, a spokesman for the Oakland-based medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said Wednesday at least two witnesses appeared under subpoena last Thursday before a federal grand jury in San Francisco that's probing Rosenthal's activities over a wider range of time than the original case included - -- possibly a prelude to new charges."

According to the Tribune, "Those two people, who for now wish to remain anonymous, both invoked their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, Dolphin said. They're to appear before the grand jury again today, perhaps to be offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony; this could leave them to choose between testifying or being jailed for civil contempt of court."

The Tribune noted that "Medical use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation is legal under state law but prohibited by federal law, so Rosenthal was barred from mounting a medical defense at trial. Breyer sentenced him to one day behind bars -- time he'd already served. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his convictions in April, finding juror misconduct -- a juror's conversation with an attorney-friend during deliberations -- compromised Rosenthal's right to a fair verdict and so warranted a new trial. But the court also rejected Rosenthal's claim of immunity from prosecution as an officer of Oakland who grew the drug under the city's medical marijuana ordinance. The court in July refused Rosenthal's requests for rehearing, or for an 'en banc' rehearing by a larger panel. Simpich told Breyer on Wednesday that Rosenthal's team of lawyers by Oct. 15 will file a petition seeking the U.S. Supreme Court's review. But Breyer said the 9th Circuit's Aug. 16 remand of the case requires that a retrial be scheduled within 70 days of that date."

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Court Ruling Allows Patients, Advocates To Oppose San Diego County In Lawsuit

Patients and their advocates, including the ACLU, will be allowed to join in defending against the suit by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors aimed at overturning California's medical marijuana laws. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on August 5, 2006 ("Ruling Lets ACLU, Others Join Suit") that "The ACLU and other groups backing medical marijuana use are joining the defense against the county's lawsuit challenging the Compassionate Use Act. The county filed suit in San Diego Superior Court contending that state laws allowing medicinal use of marijuana are superseded by federal laws banning drug use and possession. The suit was filed in February against San Diego NORML - the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws - after the county Board of Supervisors refused to implement part of the state law requiring counties to issue identification cards to medical marijuana users that could protect them from prosecution. The counties of San Bernardino and Merced later joined in the suit, on the county's side. Superior Court Judge William R. Nevitt Jr. ruled yesterday that the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance may join the suit on behalf of medical marijuana users."

According to the Union-Tribune, "Nevitt found the groups do have a direct interest in the lawsuit and will be allowed to intervene as long as they don't raise any new legal issues or seek to delay the case. The next hearing on the case, a motion for judgment, is scheduled for Nov. 16. 'We look forward to the opportunity to stand together with patients in defense of the rights of states to allow medicine to those in need,' ACLU lawyer David Blair-Loy said in a statement in response to the ruling. 'We are heartened that the court recognized the necessity of giving voice to those truly at risk from the counties' ill-conceived actions.'"

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Feds, County Police Raid Several Dispensaries In San Diego; At Least 15 Reported Arrested

Law enforcement agents raided several medical marijuana dispensaries in the San Diego area on Thursday, July 6, 2006. The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on July 7, 2006 ("15 Held In Raids On Pot Stores") that "Drug agents showed up at dispensaries in La Jolla, Ocean Beach, North Park and elsewhere across the city, detaining patients, running warrant checks on employees and arresting previously identified dispensary owners. Of the 15 people arrested, six face federal charges related to a grand jury indictment handed down late Wednesday, and 10 were charged by county prosecutors. One suspect, John Sullivan, 38, of San Diego, faces both federal and state charges."

According to the Union-Tribune, "Prosecutors took the unusual step of filing official complaints with the California Medical Board against four physicians who they said sell an inordinate number of recommendations for medical marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that doctors cannot be targeted for recommending that their patients use marijuana. The raids followed a December sweep by the same joint-agency narcotics task force. In that sweep, agents confiscated equipment and thousands of patient records but made no arrests. Investigators said much of the information seized then helped form the case that unfolded with Wednesday's grand jury indictments and yesterday's raids. District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said her office decided not to target legitimate medical marijuana patients, who are protected under state law but remain vulnerable to prosecution under federal drug statutes. Rather, she said, her office was singling out dispensaries that indiscriminately sell marijuana to anyone who can produce a physician's recommendation. 'We support (medical marijuana) wholeheartedly, but Proposition 215 is being severely abused,' Dumanis said. 'It's just really gotten out of hand. . . . Those of us in law enforcement have tolerated it for too long.'"

The Union-Tribune noted that "Only one of the suspects arrested by federal agents – Sullivan – actually ran dispensaries. The other five men were accused of one count each of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. They were Wayne Hudson, 42; Christopher Larkin, 34; Ross McManus, 39; and Michael Ragin, 34, all of San Diego; and Scott Wright, 40, of La Mesa. If convicted, they could face up to 40 years in prison. County prosecutors charged Sullivan and nine others: Ahmad Abdul-Jaiil, 21; Anthony Armine, 33; Aaron Ballenger, 21; William Burd, 29; Stephen Harding, 37; Christopher Jessie, 22; Jason Kaufmann, 30; Raphael Mijares, 35; and Daniel Stansfield, 30, all of San Diego. Those defendants face charges of selling marijuana and possession for sale, with penalties ranging up to four years in state prison."

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Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment Fails In 2006 House Vote
Supporters Vow To Continue Efforts For Medical Cannabis Approval

The House of Representatives once again failed to pass the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would have prevented the US Justice Department and particularly the Drug Enforcement Administration from going after legal medical marijuana dispensaries. The Associated Press reported on June 29, 2006 ("House Votes To Continue Allowing Federal Prosecution Of Medical Marijuana Users") that "By a 259-163 vote, the House again turned down an amendment that would have blocked the Justice Department from prosecuting people in the 11 states with such medical marijuana laws."

According to AP, "The vote came as the House debated a $59.8 billion bill covering the departments of Commerce, Justice and State. 'If the voters have seen to it and a doctor agrees, it's a travesty for the government to intercede ... to get in the way of someone using something to alleviate their suffering,' said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. 'This is something that should be left to the states as American tradition dictates.'"

Following is the full text of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment:

At the end of the bill ( before the short title ), add the following:
TITLE VIII--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 801. None of the funds made available in this Act may used by the Department of Justice to prevent the States of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, or Washington from implementing State laws authorizing the use of medical marijuana, and the Attorney General shall transfer from available appropriations for the current fiscal year for the Department of Justice any amounts that would have been used for such purpose but for this section to ``Drug Enforcement Administration, Salaries and Expenses'', for the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist State and local law enforcement with proper removal and disposal of hazardous materials from illegal methamphetamine labs, including funding for training, technical assistance, a container program, and purchase of equipment to adequately remove and store hazardous material.

The results of the roll-call for the amendment are available from the House website.

A transcript of the House debate over the amendment is available through MAPinc.org website. Some excerpts follow.

Rep. David Obey, D-WI: "Mr. Chairman, I congratulate the authors of this amendment. I simply want to say this: If I am terminally ill, it is not anybody's business on this floor how I handle the pain or the illness or the sickness associated with that illness.
With all due respect to all of you, butt out. I did not enter this world with the permission of the Justice Department, and I am certainly not going to depart it by seeking their permission or that of any other authority.
The Congress has no business telling people that they cannot manage their illness or their pain any way they need to. I would trust any doctor in the country before I trust some of the daffy ducks in this institution to decide what I am supposed to do if I am terminally ill.
The idea that somehow this is a gateway that we are creating for a drug like meth is a joke. I detest meth. I have seen what it does. It is a plague on my district. It is especially horrendous in the midwest, and it is getting worse every day. That has nothing whatsoever to do with the management of pain and misery for people who are sick and who are dying.
When is this Congress going to recognize that individuals in their private lives have a right to manage their problems as they see fit without the permission of the big guy in the White House or the big guy in the Justice Department or any of the Lilliputians on this Congressional floor? Wake up."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-NY: "Our coalition of freedom-minded Republicans and Democrats on this issue is based on compassion for those who are suffering, a commitment to personal liberty and a firm belief in the principles of federalism.
The use of marijuana to relieve the pain of victims of a wide variety of medical conditions is well known and increasingly documented in the media and in medical journals. For many of these people, medical science has not been able to relieve their pain.
Just recently a friend of mine and a friend of many years passed away, Lyn Nofziger, and many of you here probably know him. He was Ronald Reagan's first press secretary. I went to see him after he got out of the hospital with his treatments for cancer.
He had his good days and his bad days. I saw him about a week before he died. And I asked Lyn about it, and he said, yes, sometimes it is bad, and other times it is not, but I could not get myself to eat, and I had the pain no matter what they did for me.
And I said, well, did you ever try that medical marijuana that we have been talking about and debating about? And he got a twinkle in his eye, and he said, yes, I did. And it brought my appetite back, and I slept like a baby. Do not tell me that we should have Federal law enforcement people come into a State where the people have voted to approve that if a doctor agrees and get in the way of Lyn Nofziger or anyone else who is suffering and use Federal money and Federal resources that should be going to fight crime in order to create that obstacle.
That is a travesty. Individuals who live in the 11 States affected by the amendment have been granted by the voters of these States the legal right to use marijuana to alleviate their pain if a doctor agrees. If the voters have so voted and a doctor agrees, it is a travesty for the government to intercede, the Federal Government, allocating our scarce resources to fighting this, getting in the way of someone using something to alleviate their suffering.
This is something which should be left to the States as American tradition dictates. Sandra Day O'Connor stated it best, and she stated that States should serve as a laboratory so that people can try certain new ideas out to see how they work.
Well, the Federal Government should not get in the way of what is going on in these 11 States to see how this works."

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-NY: "Mr. Chairman, this amendment has to do with two things: It has to do with compassion, compassion for people who are very seriously ill and/or dying, and the ability of States in which those people live to provide means by which their suffering can be relieved.
It also has to do with one other point, and that is the issue of States' rights, the ability of the States to determine how medical care will be regulated in those States.
We have 11 States in our country, Mr. Chairman, that have determined that it is in the interests of the people of those States that they be allowed to use marijuana for medicinal purposes to alleviate the suffering from such things as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Rhode Island, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. However, the Federal Government has decided that they are going to intervene and prevent those States from carrying out the laws which were passed in two cases by the State legislatures and in nine cases by referenda by the people of those States.
We will hear from the people who oppose this amendment that marijuana has something to do with a gateway drug. In other words, it introduces people to other drugs. This amendment has nothing whatsoever to do with that. This amendment has nothing to do with drug addiction. This amendment has nothing to do with the potential for drug addiction. This amendment simply has to do with the ability of States to relieve the suffering of their citizens without Federal intervention and the right of States to pass laws regulating medical practice without Federal intervention. It is a very simple amendment, and it ought to be passed. Those people here who believe in small government should support it. Those people here who believe in the issue of States' rights ought to support it. And those people here who believe that State governments and the people in those governments have the right to take care of their citizens and alleviate their suffering, those people in this House ought to support this amendment as well."

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Americans For Safe Access Opens DC Lobbying Office, Presses For Passage Of Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment

The medical marijuana organization Americans for Safe Access opened a Washington, DC lobbying office in May 2006. The Hill newspaper reported on June 21, 2006 ("New Lobbying Group Presses For Medical Marijuana Use") that "Americans for Safe Access ( ASA ), a nonprofit group funded by patients, doctors and researchers who support exploring marijuana's therapeutic potential, opened its Washington office last month and completed its first grassroots lobbying visits yesterday. ASA's two lobbyists and seven members, dubbed 'citizen experts,' met Rep. Maurice Hinchey ( D-N.Y. ), who will offer his traditional medical-marijuana amendment to the Justice Department appropriations bill when it hits the floor next week, and 20 more House members, most from the California delegation. California permits cannabis use for medical reasons, but the Supreme Court ruled last year in Gonzales v. Raich that the Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA ) could legally raid the supply of state-sanctioned users. 'Eventually we do see legislation being put forth' to end the federal ban on marijuana research, said ASA's government-affairs director, Caren Woodson, 'but the first thing we need to happen is that patients and doctors in states with laws stop being harassed by DEA agents.' Hinchey's amendment, co-sponsored by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher ( R-Calif. ), would bar Justice from spending federal money on raiding stashes in California and nine other states with legalization laws."

More information about the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment can be found by clicking here.

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City Of West Hollywood Moves To Legalize Marijuana

The City Council for West Hollywood, CA, has adopted a resolution making marijuana laws the lowest priority for law enforcement. According to the Los Angeles Times on June 20, 2006 ("West Hollywood Wants To Legalize Pot Use"), "The City Council approved a resolution that urges the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to make marijuana-related offenses a 'low priority' that deputies should largely ignore. In doing so, it became the first city in Southern California to request that its law enforcement agency look the other way at recreational pot use and target only the sale of marijuana. The vote was taken despite concerns from some residents and top aides of Sheriff Lee Baca, who had urged the council to delay the vote. Councilman John Duran proposed the resolution, saying that deputies have more important things to worry about than arresting people with small amounts of pot. Instead, he said, deputies could focus on more destructive drugs like crystal methamphetamine. 'We've seen that marijuana use is certainly no more dangerous and destructive than alcohol use,' Duran said. 'The whole 'reefer madness' hysteria has worn thin.'"

The Times reported that "San Francisco and Oakland have passed similar rules. But unlike those cities, West Hollywood lacks its own police force. Instead it contracts with the county sheriff for police services. Sheriff's Department officials said they were worried about the message being sent if law enforcement was asked to selectively enforce state law. 'As sworn personnel they have certain obligations to uphold,' said Jeff Prang, a West Hollywood councilman who also is a special aide to Baca. Prang abstained on Monday's vote. The resolution passed 4 to 0."

The Times noted that "it is possible that voters in West Hollywood might end up deciding the issue. A group called the West Hollywood Civil Liberties Alliance had launched a campaign to put legalization on the ballot. Duran said the city compromised and agreed to sponsor its own resolution instead. 'Any time you run a special election, it could cost a small city like West Hollywood around $80,000,' Duran said. What's more, if put on the spot, the Sheriff's Department probably would oppose the initiative, Duran said. 'It would have been divisive and it would have been costly,' he said. Veteran West Hollywood attorney Bruce Margolin, who has represented hundreds of clients facing marijuana and other criminal charges, including Timothy Leary, hopes that the council's action is just the beginning. 'This is just another expression of the public saying, 'Stop putting people in jail for such benign conduct as the use of marijuana … because it doesn't really affect society in a way that is of great concern,'' he said."

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New Jersey Senate To Consider Medical Marijuana Legislation

A medical marijuana bill will at last get a hearing in the New Jersey Senate. The Ocean County Observer reported May 14, 2006 ( "Trenton Is Next Battleground In Marijuana Fight") that "With the announcement that a medical marijuana bill will be discussed by the state Senate in June, residents and officials in Ocean County - which has become an improbable battleground for the issue - are once again gearing up for a fight. Supporters like Jim Miller, a Dover Township resident whose wife used marijuana to relieve the symptoms of her multiple sclerosis, hailed the decision to hold a June 8 hearing. 'It's an important first step,' Miller, whose wife Cheryl died in 2003, said. Miller and other propo-nents of the legislation say that marijuana alleviates pain and relieves the effects of more traditional medications, perhaps most notably chemotherapy-induced nausea. Indeed, Miller said that he once used marijuana to relax his wife Cheryl's muscles enough that she could continue physical therapy. 'For many really ill people, that ( marijuana ) is their best medicine,' Miller said during a telephone interview this week."

According to the Observer, "State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who is chairman of a Senate health panel, is expected to hear from experts on medicinal marijuana during the June hearing. The legislative hearing would be the first for a bill long proposed by Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union. The Assembly hasn't scheduled any hearings on the bill, but Gov. Jon S. Corzine - then a gubernatorial candidate - pledged last year that he would sign a medical marijuana bill into law. At next month's hearing, the Senate will likely hear from an expert in marijuana in medicine, the head of the New Jersey State Nurses' Association and a representative from a state that already allows medicinal marijuana, Miller said. Scutari is also expected to testify, Miller said. The hearing is being held to answer any questions Vitale may have, Miller said. A vote would likely not be held until a second round of hearings, he said. 'I am hopeful,' Miller said."

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Rosenthal Conviction Overturned On Appeal; New Trial Granted

Ed Rosenthal, the California author and activist, could face a new trial after his conviction was overturned on appeal. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on April 27, 2006 ( "Juror's Call Upends Medical Pot Conviction") that "A federal appeals court overturned the pot-growing convictions of a prominent advocate of medical marijuana Wednesday because of a juror's phone call to an attorney friend, who told her to follow the judge's instructions or she could get in trouble. The juror's unauthorized contact on the eve of the verdict in January 2003 was an 'improper influence' that denied Oakland resident Ed Rosenthal a trial before an impartial jury, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said in a 3-0 ruling granting him a new trial. 'Jurors cannot fairly determine the outcome of a case if they believe they will face 'trouble' for a conclusion they reach as jurors,' said the opinion by Judge Betty Fletcher. 'The threat of punishment works a coercive influence on the jury's independence.'"

According to the Chronicle, "Rosenthal's lawyer, Dennis Riordan, said the ruling and the events that prompted it underscore the uneasiness of the trial jurors, and their community, about criminal charges against a medical-marijuana supplier. 'There would not have been a conviction but for this outside influence' of the attorney's advice, Riordan said. 'Jurors never can be told they can get in trouble for what they say during deliberations.' There was no immediate announcement from U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's office on whether it would appeal the ruling or retry Rosenthal. The appeals court signaled that a retrial and convictions on the same charges would result, at most, in a one-day jail sentence, the term imposed by Rosenthal's judge in 2003. Fletcher said the court 'would not be inclined to disturb' the judge's sentencing decision."

The Chronicle noted that "The ruling was narrow and did not address most of the issues raised by the conflict between federal drug law, which prohibits growing or using marijuana, and California's Proposition 215, a 1996 initiative that allowed patients to use the drug with their doctors' approval. But the reversal of Rosenthal's convictions continued a series of post-trial setbacks for the government in one of its most prominent marijuana prosecutions."

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Politics Trumps Science: FDA Issues Statement Dismissing Marijuana's Medical Value

The US Food & Drug Administration issued a statement April 20, 2006, rejecting assertions of medical benefits of marijuana. The New York Times reported April 21, 2006 ( "FDA Dismisses Medical Benefit From Marijuana") that "The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists. The announcement inserts the health agency into yet another fierce political fight. Susan Bro, an agency spokeswoman, said Thursday's statement resulted from a past combined review by federal drug enforcement, regulatory and research agencies that concluded 'smoked marijuana has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment.' Ms. Bro said the agency issued the statement in response to numerous inquiries from Capitol Hill but would probably do nothing to enforce it. 'Any enforcement based on this finding would need to be by D.E.A. since this falls outside of F.D.A.'s regulatory authority,' she said."

Scientists immediately denounced the FDA's statement. According to the Times, "The Food and Drug Administration statement directly contradicts a 1999 review by the Institute of Medicine, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious scientific advisory agency. That review found marijuana to be 'moderately well suited for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting.' Dr. John Benson, co-chairman of the Institute of Medicine committee that examined the research into marijuana's effects, said in an interview that the statement on Thursday and the combined review by other agencies were wrong. The federal government 'loves to ignore our report,' said Dr. Benson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. 'They would rather it never happened.' Some scientists and legislators said the agency's statement about marijuana demonstrated that politics had trumped science. 'Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the F.D.A. making pronouncements that seem to be driven more by ideology than by science,' said Dr. Jerry Avorn, a medical professor at Harvard Medical School."

The Times noted that "The Food and Drug Administration's statement said state initiatives that legalize marijuana use were 'inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the F.D.A. approval process.' But scientists who study the medical use of marijuana said in interviews that the federal government had actively discouraged research. Lyle E. Craker, a professor in the division of plant and soil sciences at the University of Massachusetts, said he submitted an application to the D.E.A. in 2001 to grow a small patch of marijuana to be used for research because government-approved marijuana, grown in Mississippi, was of poor quality. In 2004, the drug enforcement agency turned Dr. Craker down. He appealed and is awaiting a judge's ruling. 'The reason there's no good evidence is that they don't want an honest trial,' Dr. Craker said. Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said he had studied marijuana's medicinal effects for years but had been frustrated because the National Institutes of Health, the leading government medical research agency, had refused to finance such work. With financing from the State of California, Dr. Abrams undertook what he said was a rigorous, placebo-controlled trial of marijuana smoking in H.I.V. patients who suffered from nerve pain. Smoking marijuana proved effective in ameliorating pain, Dr. Abrams said, but he said he was having trouble getting the study published. 'One wonders how anyone' could fulfill the Food and Drug Administration request for well-controlled trials to prove marijuana's benefits, he said."

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Raich Returns To Federal Court

Angel Raich, the Oakland medical cannabis patient, is back in federal court arguing for her right to use her medicine. The Alameda Times-Star reported on March 24, 2006 ( "Medical Pot Case Back To Litigation") that "Less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against her, Oakland medical marijuana patient and advocate Angel Raich will go back before a federal appeals court Monday with a different legal argument. Her lawyers will try to persuade a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting in Pasadena, that keeping her from using marijuana as medicine unduly burdens her fundamental rights to life and freedom from pain, as protected by the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause and the Ninth Amendment. The government argues there is no constitutionally protected fundamental right to obtain and use marijuana in defiance of the federal ban on the drug."

According to the Times-Star, "But the 9th Circuit panel and the Supreme Court dealt only with the Commerce Clause argument, not the other constitutional issues. With the case remanded back to the 9th Circuit, Raich's attorneys now are pursuing the remaining arguments; Monson dropped out of the case late last year. Besides the Fifth- and Ninth-Amendment arguments, Raich's lawyers also claim the common-law doctrine of necessity -- the idea that it's OK to break the law when forces beyond one's control compel it and there is no reasonable, legal alternative -- bars the government from applying the Controlled Substances Act to ban medically necessary activities. The government argues the Supreme Court's decision in the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative case already ruled out a medical-necessity argument. And Raich's lawyers claim the Tenth Amendment protects against federal interference with state regulation of personal, noncommercial medical activities within their own borders -- namely, medical marijuana laws. But the government says the Supreme Court's rejection of the Commerce Clause argument last year already covered that ground. "I know we're going to win, I feel pretty good about the 9th Circuit," Raich said Friday."

The Times-Star noted that "Raich says without the drug's appetite boost, her wasting syndrome causes rapid, life-threatening weight loss. She also suffers from ailments including an inoperable brain tumor and nonepileptic seizures, and in November she had a hysterectomy following her precervical-cancer diagnosis. Meanwhile, she is planning a Capitol Hill lobbying blitz with renowned talk-show host and fellow medical marijuana user Montel Williams, to begin perhaps as early as May. The House last June defeated an amendment that would have forbidden the Justice Department from using public money to raid, arrest or prosecute patients and providers in states with medical marijuana laws. The amendment got 161 votes -- more votes than in 2003 and 2004 - -- but still fell 57 short of the 218 it needed for passage. Raich's case documents are available on her Web site, http://www.angeljustice.org.

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Follow-Up: Steve Kubby Sentenced To 60 Days In Jail

Medical marijuana activist and patient Steve Kubby returned to jail in mid-March 2006. The Sacramento Bee reported on March 14, 2006 ( "Marijuana Activist Being Sent Back To Jail") that "Recently released from the Placer County jail because of overcrowding, medical marijuana advocate Steven Wynn Kubby is being sent back. Kubby was sentenced Tuesday to a 60-day term by a judge who determined that the 59-year-old activist had violated his probation in 2001 by moving to Canada rather than serve a 120-day stretch for a drug conviction. He will report to the jail Wednesday. Kubby said he again hopes for an early release because of good behavior and possible jail overcrowding. 'Hopefully, I can serve just 20 days of it, but I've been given no guarantees,' he said."

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Massachusetts Legislature Kills Medical Marijuana Bill

A move by a Massachusetts legislative committee has killed medical marijuana legislation for this session. The Metrowest Daily News reported on March 4, 2006 ( "Medical Pot Use Up In Smoke") that "Lawmakers effectively killed a bill to legalize marijuana for medical use in Massachusetts, citing concerns about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing federal agents to arrest people who use pot to ease their pain or nausea from chemotherapy treatment. The joint Public Health Committee sent a medical marijuana bill to be studied on Wednesday, thus stopping it from advancing to the full Legislature and effectively killing it this session."

According to the Daily News, ""It was about the Supreme Court decision," state Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, House chairman of the committee, said about why the bill was sent to study. The committee, he said, didn't 'even really get to the issue of whether it should be allowed or not, because it was against the federal law and Constitution.' State Rep. Frank Smizik, D-Brookline, had filed the bill. Its co-sponsors include state Reps. Deborah Blumer, D-Framingham, and Ruth Balser, D-Newton."

The Daily News noted that "At the State House, separate legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana was endorsed two weeks ago by the joint Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee. That bill to make possession of less than one once of marijuana a civil offense is now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee."

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Steve Kubby Released From Jail Pending Hearing

Noted California medical marijuana activist Steve Kubby was released from jail pending a hearing. The Sacramento Bee reported on March 7, 2006 ( "Early Release For Pot Activist") that "Strapped for jail beds, Placer County authorities on Monday released Steven Wynn Kubby, the medical marijuana activist who said he would die in custody if denied medical marijuana to battle his adrenal cancer. Kubby, who had served nearly a third of his 120-day sentence for a 2000 drug conviction, could not be reached for comment. While in custody, Kubby was a model prisoner and caused no problems, said sheriff's Lt. George Malim."

According to the Bee, "The jail is under federal order to stay below 90 percent capacity, Malim said. Kubby was convicted in 2000 for possession of psilocyn and mescaline. A judge ordered him to serve 120 days in jail and complete three years' probation. Kubby, who fled to Canada, was deported in January. While jailed, Kubby took Marinol, a prescription drug that contains a synthetic form of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Kubby's lawyers said last week he had lost 25 pounds."

The Bee noted that "He is due in court March 14 to face a probation violation charge relating to his Canadian stay."

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New Mexico House Tables, Kills Medical Marijuana Legislation – Advocates Make Last Ditch Effort To Resurrect Bill

Action by a New Mexico House committee may have killed chances for medical marijuana legislation to pass this session. The Farmington Daily Times reported on Feb. 12, 2006 ( "Medical Marijuana Bill Tabled By House") that "Rep. Joseph Cervantes, R-Las Cruces, alleged that a medical marijuana bill that passed earlier this session in the Senate was sent to the House Agriculture and Water Resources Committee to die. And that's exactly what happened Saturday. The committee tabled the bill on a 4-3 decision, with Committee Chairman Joe Stell, D-Carlsbad, casting the deciding vote. By tabling the bill, the committee will prevent it from advancing to the House floor for a vote."

According to the Daily Times, "In casting the deciding vote, Stell said New Mexico is a part of the federal union. Others voting against the bill also said they did not want to violate federal law. Cervantes, who is a member of the committee, questioned why the bill was sent there in the first place. He noted that it had nothing to do with water, and very little to do with agriculture. 'This bill is here for a reason. It's been sent here to kill it,' Cervantes said. 'The assumption is that because everybody on this committee is from rural New Mexico, we're a conservative lot; and a conservative lot will kill this bill. And I think that's unfortunate.' Cervantes, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said any legal problems in the bill could have been considered there. He noted that on Friday, all 70 members of the House heard a bill to declare the official 'state cowboy song.' He said the medical marijuana bill should get at least the same consideration. 'This issue is important enough that all 70 of us should hear it,' Cervantes said."

The Daily Times noted that "Rep. Andy Nunez, D-Hatch, apparently agreed. Even though he argued against the bill, Nunez moved that it be allowed to advance with a "no recommendation" from the committee. But before a vote could be taken, Rep. Richard Cheney, R-Farmington, moved that the bill be tabled. The tabling motion was approved with Reps. Cheney, Stell, Sandra Townsend, R-Aztec, and Don Tripp, R-Socorro, voting in favor. Cervantes, Nunez and Rep. Ray Begaye, D-Shiprock, voted against the tabling motion."

The advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance Network launched a last ditch effort to save the bill. Check the DPA website for more info.

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New Mexico State Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Legislation

Legislation which would legalize medical marijuana for patients in need passed the New Mexico State Senate at the end of January 2006. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Feb. 1, 2006 ( "Medical Pot Clears Senate") that "By an overwhelming majority, the state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow sufferers of serious medical conditions to smoke marijuana without fear of prosecution. Strong majorities of both political parties contributed to the 34-6 passage of SB258, sponsored by Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque. 'I think it's wonderful,' said Essie DeBonet, an Albuquerque AIDS sufferer who has lobbied for the bill the past two sessions. 'The Senate showed their concerns for people.' Although an assistant to the White House drug czar flew to New Mexico to testify against the bill last week, 12 of the Senate's 18 Republicans voted for it. With two of the Senate's most socially conservative senators -- Sen. Kent Cravens, R-Albuquerque; and Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington -- voting for the first time in favor of a medical-marijuana bill, it might seem that the political landscape has shifted for this issue."

Sadly the measure still faces a significant hurdle in the state House. According to the New Mexican, "However, to become law, the bill first must make it through the House, where last year's bill died as a 'hostage' in political wrangling over an unrelated bill. Most involved in the issue agree the House won't be as easy as the Senate -- especially during the last half of a short session. Even before the bill passed the Senate, advocates began working the House. 'We had a great meeting last week with ( House Speaker ) Ben Lujan,' said Reena Szczepanski -- director of the state chapter of The Drug Policy Alliance, a national drug-law reform group that has been pushing the proposed bill. But she said the speaker made no promises. 'It's definitely in his court now.' In an interview Tuesday, Lujan said he is disappointed that the medical-marijuana bill was one of the first Senate bills passed this year. 'I would have hoped that the first bills passed would have addressed issues that are more at the forefront of what the general public really wants,' he said. But, Lujan said, 'I'm not going to derail this bill or attempt to keep it from being heard.' He said he expects to give the bill only two committee assignments -- House Consumer and Public Affairs and House Judiciary -- the same two that heard last year's bill. Last year, the measure zipped through Consumer and Public Affairs unanimously and got an 8-1 favorable vote in Judiciary."

The New Mexican noted that "Although last year's bill was on the House floor schedule for several days, it never got heard. Rep. Dan Silva, D-Albuquerque, was blunt about the fact that he had worked behind the scenes to delay action on the medical-marijuana bill. Silva said his actions were caused by the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by medical-marijuana sponsor McSorley, not hearing a bill dealing with an Albuquerque development that Silva sponsored. On Tuesday, Silva said he had no plans to hold up the latest medical-marijuana bill. Gov. Bill Richardson, who put the bill on his legislative call, has said he'd sign a medical-marijuana bill. Eric Witt, one of the governor's legislative liaisons, said Tuesday that Richardson would sign the bill if he was convinced it was not in direct conflict with federal law and it protected state agencies involved in the program."

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Steve Kubby, Deported From Canada To US, Is Taken To Jail

Steve Kubby, the medical marijuana activist and cancer patient who has been fighting to remain in Canada, lost that battle near the end of January 2006. The Vancouver Sun reported on Jan. 27, 2006 ( "Medical Marijuana Crusader Arrested On His Return To California") that "Medical marijuana crusader Steve Kubby was arrested Thursday night at San Francisco Airport after spending years as a fugitive in Canada. Kubby was arrested on a no-bail warrant and booked into San Mateo County jail, San Francisco police said. There was an emotional farewell earlier when Kubby's supporters and family were at Vancouver International Airport as he boarded a flight to California escorted by his American lawyer Bill McPike who said, 'The officials in Canada might be sending him back to a death sentence.' Kubby said he was concerned about heading back to a place that doesn't understand his medicinal need for pot. 'The thought of people having an open animosity towards me, people that want to harm me, that want to bury their mistakes, that's very distressing,' he said."

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Medical Marijuana Legislation Moves Forward In New Mexico

A bill to legalize medical marijuana appears to be on track for approval in New Mexico. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported on Jan. 25, 2006 ( "Medical-Marijuana Bill Finds Support, Moves Forward") that "A bill that would legalize medical marijuana cleared its first hurdle Tuesday, getting a unanimous, bipartisan 'do-pass' recommendation from the Senate Public Affairs Committee. Senate Bill 258 would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer and AIDS, to use marijuana to treat their symptoms -- and in some cases the side effects of treatment for those diseases. The state Department of Health would administer a program under which doctors would be allowed to recommend marijuana for their patients. The marijuana used in the program would be grown in a secure facility by the state or a private agency contracting with the state."

According to the New Mexican, "Debbie Armstrong was one of three of Gov. Bill Richardson's cabinet members at the committee hearing. Human Services Secretary Pam Hyde told the committee, "It's time we sent a message to the federal government." Health Secretary Michelle Grisham-Lujan told the panel that it would not be difficult to set up a program in her department to oversee medical marijuana. But one Richardson cabinet secretary not at the hearing was state Public Safety Secretary John Denko. During his tenure as Santa Fe police chief, Denko had testified in legislative hearings against previous medical-marijuana bills."

(NM Governor William Richardson announced his support of the medical marijuana legislation, known as the "Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use Act," in a Jan. 18, 2006 news release.)

The New Mexican noted that "The only opponents to testify Tuesday were from the law-enforcement community. Taos District Attorney Donald Gallegos predicted the bill would run afoul of federal law if the Legislature passes it. But state Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, who is a doctor, said the bill has tight safeguards. He said the bill provides stricter controls on marijuana than current law does on much stronger and addictive drugs such as codeine and OxyContin. The bill goes on to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

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San Diego County Files Suit To Overturn Medical Marijuana Law

The county of San Diego filed a lawsuit in federal court in mid-January 2006 to overturn California's medical marijuana law. The North County Times reported on Jan. 21, 2006 ( "County Files Suit To Overturn California Medical Marijuana Law") that "County officials formally filed a precedent-setting lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Friday that could overturn California's 9-year-old medical marijuana law - a suit that has angered marijuana advocates here and around the state. The seven-page lawsuit argues that California's 1996 voter-approved "Compassionate Use Act" - Proposition 215 - should be pre-empted by federal law, which says all marijuana use is illegal and that the drug has no medicinal value. County officials and marijuana advocacy groups said the lawsuit was the first that would try to overturn any of the medical marijuana laws that voters have approved in 11 states. John Sansone, the county's top lawyer, said there was no word on when the courts might begin listening to arguments in the lawsuit. Sansone and others expect the suit to make its way eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. San Diego County supervisors - all of whom were on the board when Prop. 215 was approved in 1996 - have always opposed the measure, and have often called it a "bad law" that could lead to drug abuse."

According to the North County Times, "Local patients who use marijuana to ease pain and national marijuana advocacy groups have blasted the board. Several speakers, including Rudy Reyes, a burn victim of the 2003 Cedar fire who uses marijuana for pain management, asked supervisors to reconsider filing the lawsuit in recent board meetings. On Wednesday, Reyes and other angry medical marijuana advocates, with the backing of the Marijuana Policy Project - a national group that would like to see marijuana regulated on a par with alcohol - filed letters of intent seeking to impose two-year term limits on supervisors, saying they had 'lost touch with constituents.' On Friday, Dale Gieringer, director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, also criticized the supervisors. 'It's probably the first time that anyone has found a board so ignorant of constitutional law that they'd waste taxpayer money on a challenge,' Gieringer said. 'I think the county counsel knows that it's a waste of taxpayer money, ordered by a very ignorant board of supervisors that is clearly in over its head.'"

San Bernardino County also joined the suit. The San Diego Union Tribune reported on Jan. 25, 2006 ( "County Finds Ally Against Medical Pot") that "The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is joining San Diego County in its suit. San Diego County filed suit in federal court Friday seeking to overturn Proposition 215, the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act, which allows possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in California. The county also wants the court to void a later law passed by the state Legislature that requires counties to create and maintain a database of medical marijuana users and issue identification cards. The county says the state laws permitting medical marijuana conflict with federal drug laws. It also says California is in violation of a 1961 international treaty signed by the United States that puts responsibility for halting the flow of illegal drugs on each participating nation. San Bernardino County officials said yesterday that they want a judge to decide the matter before they proceed with issuing identification to medical marijuana users. 'There is a conflict between state and federal law that must be resolved by the courts before the county feels it can move forward,' according to a statement issued by San Bernardino board Chairman Bill Postmus. Its county counsel, Ron Reitz, issued a one-paragraph statement following the unanimous, closed-session vote, saying the board had chosen to join San Diego County's lawsuit."

Advocates are hopeful that a filing by the American Civil Liberties Union may get the suit thrown out of court. According to the Union Tribune, "The American Civil Liberties Union also jumped into the fray yesterday, filing a motion to intervene in federal court, as promised, on behalf of patients who use marijuana to alleviate symptoms. The ACLU contends that the county's analysis is flawed and the legal standard under which federal law would pre-empt state law has not been met. The ACLU also says the county has no standing to file suit against the state in federal court. County Counsel John Sansone said: 'We don't agree. The court will have to take it from there.' Kevin Keenan, the ACLU's executive director for San Diego and Imperial counties, said, 'It's too bad that other politicians are smelling political capital and news attention to be had.' Referring to San Bernardino County's vote to join the lawsuit, Keenan said: 'They'll be lucky if they get to court before it's dismissed. Legally, it's equally meritless.' The ACLU's court filing capped several days of pressure from medical marijuana advocates, who want San Diego County to withdraw its lawsuit."

The San Diego County Board may not be entirely united in its anti-patient efforts. The Union Tribune noted that "Supervisor Ron Roberts asked that activists stop sending letters protesting the lawsuit to his office. 'I have not and I don't support this lawsuit,' he said. When the issue first came to the board in November, Roberts and Greg Cox were on the losing side of a 3-2 vote in which the other supervisors refused to implement the state's identification card program for medical marijuana users. Later, in closed session, the board voted 4-0 to sue the state, with Roberts absent. After yesterday's meeting, Roberts elaborated: 'I honestly feel strongly that if people are suffering from terminal illnesses and other serious problems that medical marijuana can be of use to them, and we ought to, in a professional way, make it available to them.'"

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Rhode Island House Overrides Governor's Veto, Legalizes Medical Marijuana

The Rhode Island House of Representatives overrode Governor Carcieri's veto of medical marijuana legislation on Jan. 3, 2006. The Associated Press reported Jan. 3, 2006 ( "House Overrides Carcieri's Medical Marijuana Veto") that "Rhode Island on Tuesday became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that patients who use the drug can still be prosecuted under federal law. House lawmakers voted 59-13, with one abstention, to override a veto by Gov. Don Carcieri, allowing people with illnesses such as cancer and AIDS to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces of marijuana to relieve their symptoms. The law requires them to register with the state and get a photo identification card."

The AP noted that "Carcieri vetoed it, and the state Senate voted the next day to override his veto, but the House recessed before following suit. Tuesday's House vote came just before the start of the 2006 session, allowing the law to take effect immediately. Rep. Thomas Slater, D-Providence, and Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, introduced the legislation last year after watching family members suffer from terminal illnesses. Perry's nephew died last January of AIDS. Although marijuana may have relieved his suffering, he never used it because it was illegal, she said. Slater has cancer and several of his family members died from it. He said he doesn't need marijuana now, but it could be part of his treatment in the future. "I'm sure everybody in this room knows at least one person who would have benefited from medical marijuana," he said before the vote."

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Protest Temporarily Stalls DEA Raid Of San Francisco Medical Cannabis Dispensary

A raid by federal agents on a medical cannabis dispensary in San Francisco was temporarily halted by a protest organized by Americans for Safe Access. Unfortunately the victory was short-lived, as reported by KTVU-TV on Dec. 21, 2005 ( "DEA Returns And Raids SF Medical Marijuana Club"): "Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided a medical marijuana dispensary in San Francisco this evening, just hours after protesters celebrated scaring the DEA agents away. The daylong protest involved nearly 100 demonstrators who gathered outside HopeNet, a medical marijuana co-op at 223 Ninth St., after DEA agents raided the home of the co-op's directors."

According to KTVU, " After two and a half hours, the agents turned around and left, and the protesters thought they had won. "There was a jubilant outcry of victory," said Hilary McQuie with Americans for Safe Access, a national coalition that works to protect the rights of medical marijuana users. However, sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., the DEA returned to Ninth Street and raided the facility, seizing a number of marijuana-based goods including brownies and butter, according to DEA spokeswoman Casey McEnry. Additionally, shortly before the Ninth Street raid, DEA agents raided a San Francisco warehouse and seized about 500 marijuana plants, McEnry said."

Other materials were seized in the raids, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle ) "Feds Raid Home, Growing Facility Of Pot Club Pair"): "In addition to marijuana plants, agents confiscated growing equipment, bulbs, utility bills, tax documents, financial records and photographs from the Smiths' home, the couple said. Steve Smith said he suspected the agents had taken some patient records as well. 'They beat on the door. They took me outside in my underwear and cuffed me and then searched the house,' he said. The Hope Net club has been open for about a year and distributes marijuana to about 100 patients for free in addition to its paying clients, Catherine Smith said. Several medical marijuana proponents said the club had a reputation for distributing only to deserving patients and not causing problems in the neighborhood. 'This is a good one,' said Wayne Justmann, a longtime activist."

The Chronicle noted that "The raid was the first in the city since June, when federal agents seized marijuana and other items from two cannabis clubs on Ocean Avenue in the Ingleside district and a third on Judah Street in the Inner Sunset District. Nineteen people were accused of drug trafficking and money laundering. Those raids were the first in the Bay Area since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this summer that the federal government had the authority to prosecute people whose activities are legal under state law. The growing and use of medical marijuana were legalized by state voters in 1996, but are still prohibited under federal law. San Francisco will put in place regulations for the city's 34 medical marijuana clubs starting Dec. 30. The new rules give the Planning Department the right to hold public hearings on the location of all clubs. Patients will be allowed to buy a maximum of one ounce of marijuana per visit to a club."

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DEA Raids San Francisco Cannabis Dispensary; News Conference, Protest Planned For 1pm (Pacific) 12/20/05 in SF

The group Americans for Safe Access has scheduled a news conference and demonstration for Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005, at 1pm in San Francisco to protest the DEA's raid on a local medical cannabis dispensary. According to ASA's news release:
"The directors of Hopenet, a San Francisco medical cannabis cooperative, are currently under detention in an ongoing pre-dawn federal raid on their home and the cooperative. Steve and Cathy Smith run the highly regarded 1000-member collective, which provides free medicine to over 40 seriously ill low-income patients on an ongoing basis. DEA officers have reportedly confiscated 126 starter plants, dried medicine, and computers.
"Patients and supporters are gathering outside Hopenet at 223 Ninth St (& Howard) at this writing, and a press conference is planned for 1 pm, including speakers from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, Hopenet Cooperative, Americans for Safe Access, and the San Francisco Patients' Union."

Government Sued Over Its Monopoly On Marijuana For Scientific Research

A nonprofit group and a professor in Massachusetts are suing the federal government over its monopoly on marijuana for scientific research in the US. The Washington Post reported on Dec. 12, 2005 ( "Federal Marijuana Monopoly Challenged") that "For decades, the federal government has been the nation's only legal producer of marijuana for medical research. Working with growers at the University of Mississippi, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has controlled both the quality and distribution of the drug for the past 36 years. But for the first time the government's monopoly on research marijuana is under serious legal challenge. The effort is being spearheaded by a group that wants to produce medicines from currently illegal psychedelic drugs and by a professor at the University of Massachusetts who has agreed to grow marijuana for it if the government lets him. In a hearing due to start today before an administrative law judge at the Drug Enforcement Administration, professor Lyle Craker and his supporters will argue for a DEA license to grow the research drugs. It is the climax of a decades-long effort to expand research into marijuana and controlled drugs and of Craker's almost five-year effort to become a competing marijuana grower."

According to the Post, "In his suit against the DEA for a license to grow marijuana, Craker has backing from 38 members of Congress, the two senators from Massachusetts, numerous medical societies and even Grover Norquist, the president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform. The effort has been organized by Richard Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies ( MAPS ) and a longtime advocate of medical research into controlled drugs. It was Doblin who recruited Craker after the association concluded it would never get a dependable supply of government marijuana. 'Dr. Craker has no goal here except to advance scientific research into marijuana, and our goals are the same,' said Doblin, whose group is also sponsoring research into other controlled drugs including MDMA ( better known as "ecstasy" ) and the psychedelic mushroom psilocybin. 'By controlling who can research marijuana and how they can do it, the DEA has greatly limited promising research that could lead to [government] approved medications,' Doblin said. The problems, he said, are not limited to winning approval to buy the Mississippi marijuana. Doblin and other researchers contend that the government marijuana is low in quality and potency and could never be a stable source of basic ingredients if the Food and Drug Administration ever did approve a marijuana-based medication."

The Post noted that "But because of fears of illicit use, he said, the agency has essentially blocked the research. 'I believe the DEA policy is one of delay, and they've succeeded in essentially blocking marijuana development for 30 years,' Doblin said. In its filings with Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner, the DEA disputes the charge that it is standing in the way of marijuana research. It says that medical marijuana research is underway in California using its Mississippi supply, and that the drug maker Mallinckrodt Inc. has a contract with the Mississippi supplier to produce extracts of cannabis for its drug development program. In addition, DEA lawyer Brian Bayly told the law judge in August, when the first five days of testimony were heard, that the quality and potency of the government's marijuana was acceptable to the researchers his agency surveyed. The hearing is expected to continue through the week, with a decision several months later. If Craker and his team prevail, however, the DEA is not obliged to give him a license or change its policies. And as a result, they plan to continue lining up political support, such as the Nov. 22 letter sent by Norquist to the DEA. 'The use of controlled substances for legitimate research purposes is well-established, and has yielded a number of miracle medicines widely available to patients and doctors,' Norquist wrote. 'This case should be no different. It's in the public interest to end the government monopoly on marijuana legal for research.'"

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Feds Raid 13 Cannabis Dispensaries In San Diego County

Federal agents raided 13 medical cannabis dispensaries in San Diego County on Monday, Dec. 12. The San Diego Union Tribune reported on Dec. 13, 2005 ( "13 Medical Pot Dispensaries In County Raided") that "Federal agents fanned out across San Diego County on Monday, executing simultaneous search warrants on 13 medical marijuana dispensaries. A task force headed by the San Diego office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized approximately 50 pounds of high-grade marijuana along with equipment, computers, patient records and other materials. No one was arrested on suspicion of drug-dealing, officials said, but three people were arrested on unrelated charges. The agents arrived at most of the dispensaries unannounced with guns drawn, witnesses said. They handcuffed employees and ran background checks on both workers and patients. Drug-sniffing dogs searched for pot and pot-laced products, such as brownies, ice cream and butter."

According to the Union Tribune, "Law enforcement officials said the warrants were signed by a federal judge after undercover agents purchased marijuana without the paperwork required under state law, said Jack Hook, the DEA's acting special agent in charge. "The bottom line is the prices that these people are charging is three to four times higher than you buy from a seedy drug dealer in a back alley," Hook said. "These people are not helping the medically infirm. They're out to make money." Hook said the task force had identified 29 dispensaries operating across San Diego County in recent months. Of those, 16 went out of business during the investigation. According to Hook, the dispensaries pose a serious risk to public safety. Several storefronts have been targeted by thieves because there are large amounts of drugs and money inside, he said. Even though investigators plan to scrutinize the patient records seized yesterday, the DEA said medical marijuana users are not targets of the ongoing investigation."

The Union Tribune noted that "'These actions fly in the face of voters,' said Laurie Kallonakis, president of San Diego NORML, a group dedicated to reforming laws prohibiting marijuana use and cultivation. 'Politicians and law enforcement officers are not doctors,' she said. 'Patients' records have been taken in violation of privacy rights.' Although California voters passed an initiative in 1996 allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law. In June the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the federal government's authority to arrest anyone using or possessing marijuana in the 11 states that have passed medical marijuana laws. The city of San Diego adopted guidelines regulating the medical use of marijuana in 2003, seven years after California voters approved the statewide initiative permitting sick and dying patients to use the drug with a doctor's recommendation. Dispensaries began opening across San Diego last year, after another state law spelling out terms of medical marijuana use went into effect. For more than a year, local police investigated the storefront operators, visited the dispensaries and kept records, but generally left them alone. After the high court's decision in June, some dispensaries shut down temporarily, but most of them quietly reopened in recent months. Jon Sullivan, who runs two San Diego dispensaries targeted in Monday's crackdown, said the raid only strengthened his resolve to keep dispensing marijuana. 'There are very sick people out there that need this medicine desperately,' he said. 'What the feds are doing is against the law I voted for.'"

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Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Michigan Legislature

A bill to allow patients in need to have legal access to medical marijuana was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives in December 2005. The Marijuana Policy Project announced on Dec. 5, 2005 ("Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Michigan House Of Representatives") that "Building on the strong voter support for medical marijuana initiatives over the last 16 months, Rep. LaMar Lemmons III (D-Wayne County) and a bipartisan group of cosponsors have introduced a bill to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest statewide. Rep. Lemmons' bill, HB 5470, would allow seriously ill patients to use and possess a limited amount of medical marijuana if their doctor has recommended it. The bill is similar to medical marijuana laws now in force in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. 'Patients battling cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, or other terrible illnesses should not have to risk arrest and jail for using medical marijuana if their doctor believes it may help them,' Rep. Lemmons said. 'Science, compassion and common sense say that we should protect medical marijuana patients from arrest, and the voters in four Michigan communities have resoundingly agreed.'"

MPP observed that "State voters have overwhelmingly endorsed a series of local laws to protect medical marijuana patients, beginning with passage of Detroit's Proposal M by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin in August 2004. This was followed by an even larger victory in Ann Arbor that November. In November of this year, medical marijuana initiatives passed in Ferndale and Traverse City by 61 percent to 39 percent and 63 percent to 27 percent, respectively. 'In Michigan and around the U.S., voters want to protect medical marijuana patients,' said Michael McKey, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. 'The overwhelming votes in support of local medical marijuana initiatives in Detroit, Traverse City, Ferndale, and Ann Arbor sent a clear message to legislators, and Rep. Lemmons deserves credit for listening. We are hopeful that his fellow legislators will join him in passing this sensible, humane legislation.'"

The text of House Bill 5470 is available from the Michigan Legislature website.

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Angel Continues Her Fight: Raich Files New Suit In Federal Court

Angel McClary Raich, the plaintiff in a landmark medical marijuana suit, refiled her suit in federal court in late November 2005. The San Jose Mercury News reported on Nov. 24, 2005 ( "Legal Battle For Pot Renewed") that "An Oakland woman whose landmark medicinal marijuana case was rebuffed five months ago by the U.S. Supreme Court renewed her legal fight Wednesday by filing papers in a federal appeals court. Lawyers for Angel Raich, 40, filed a brief in the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that federal efforts to restrict medicinal marijuana violate her rights to take the only medication that allows her to avoid intolerable pain and death. The brief thus marks a new legal strategy for Raich, who previously had argued that federal drug laws traditionally focus on interstate commerce and thus did not apply to Raich's use of locally grown marijuana. That argument was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling in June. The latest legal salvo by Raich also argues that prohibiting her from taking medically necessary cannabis would violate her due process rights, and that the federal Controlled Substances Act does not allow the federal government to prohibit medicinal use within a state that authorizes it."

According to the Mercury News, "Raich suffers from an inoperable brain tumor and a 'wasting syndrome' that makes it extremely difficult for her to hold down her food. After trying 35 different pharmaceutical treatments, Raich said, she found that marijuana is the only drug she can tolerate that holds her seizures and other symptoms in check. Raich's appeal will be heard by the same three-judge panel that upheld her right to use medicinal marijuana in 2003."

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Wisconsin Legislature Holds Hearing On Medical Marijuana Bill

The Wisconsin State Assembly held a hearing on Assembly Bill 740, an act relating to medical use of marijuana. The Wisconsin State Journal reported on Nov. 22, 2005 ( "Medical Pot Bill Will Get Hearing") that "Although supported mostly by Democrats, the bill's lead author is Republican state Rep. Gregg Underheim of Oshkosh, who said he was inspired to introduce it by conversations he had with cancer survivors while he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Few give the bill much chance of passage in the GOP- controlled Legislature, where many view it as the first step toward legalizing marijuana."

One of the witnesses at the hearing was federal medical marijuana recipient Irv Rosenfeld. According to the State Journal, "One of just seven remaining patients in the federal government's "compassionate use" program, which provides marijuana for medical uses, Rosenfeld said the drug helps him cope with the excruciating pain caused by an estimated 200 benign bone tumors that daily poke at his muscles and veins. Rosenfeld, 52, a stock broker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is the star witness in a planned hearing today on legislation to exempt patients with debilitating medical conditions from prosecution for using marijuana. Supporters say he's well-qualified to speak on the subject: As of this week, Rosenfeld has smoked an estimated 220 pounds of marijuana grown by the federal government on a farm in Oxford, Miss. He's the longest-serving participant in the program, which stopped accepting new patients in 1991."

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England Opens 'Back Door' To Cannabis-Based Medicine

A cannabis-based medication made by GW Pharma will be legally available to MS patients in the United Kingdom soon though it has still not received approval from the UK government. The BBC reported on Nov. 15, 2005 ( "Cannabis Drug Available In The UK") that "Sativex has already been licensed for use in Canada to relieve pain in people with MS. The Home Office has now said the drug can be imported to the UK for individual patient's use."

According to the BBC, " Under the new arrangements, the prescription of Sativex would only be permitted under Home Office licence. A doctor would have to take responsibility for the prescription of the unlicensed drug, which would have to be imported from Canada for that particular patient. Primary care trusts could decide to fund the treatment on the NHS. Otherwise, the drug would cost patients approximately £4 a day. The government has asked a watchdog, the Commission on Human Medicines, to monitor the safety of Sativex."

The BBC noted that " In a statement, the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] has said it did not object to the importation of Sativex for use to relieve pain in MS patients, but said it must be informed if the product was intended to be used for any other condition. It added: 'Under current regulations, the MHRA may only refuse an application to import an unlicensed medicine into the UK to meet the needs of a particular patient if there are overriding concerns about the product's safety or quality. Lack of proven efficacy is not a ground for refusing the import.' The company which makes Sativex, GW Pharmaceuticals, has been seeking a UK licence for the drug since 2003. It has been granted a licence to cultivate cannabis for medical research purposes in the UK. Plants are being grown at a secret location in the English countryside. The company says it will continue to seek a full UK licence for the drug."

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California Prepares To Tax Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

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National Day Of Action On Medical Marijuana June 4, 2004

Several national organizations, including Americans for Safe Access, NORML, the Marijuana Policy Project, and the Drug Policy Alliance are joining in a call for a National Day of Action and Lobbying to End DEA Raids on Patients June 4, 2004. As the Independent Media Center of the Bay Area reported on May 11, 2004 ( "National Day of Action and Lobbying to End DEA Raids on Patients"):
"The first anniversary of a major court victory for medical marijuana is coming up, and we need your help to convince members of Congress to end federal attacks on medical marijuana patients. ASA is joining MPP and other organizations to call for a National Day of Action on Friday, June 4.
"Last year on June 4, medical marijuana activist Ed Rosenthal was sentenced in federal court for marijuana cultivation charges that could have earned him 20 years in prison. Rosenthal had been convicted despite the fact that he had complied with state law and, in fact, had been working directly with the City of Oakland. After the jury who had convicted him learned of the facts that had been withheld from the trial, they stood with Ed Rosenthal and his family and asked for a new trial. On June 4, the federal judge surprised everyone by sentencing him to just one day of time served, calling on Congress to resolve the conflict over medical marijuana.
"One year later, the federal government is still wasting taxpayer money on raiding, arresting, and prosecuting medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.
"This needs to stop, and there's a winnable way to do it this summer. Last year, a medical marijuana amendment to the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), received 152 votes on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Hinchey Amendment would bar the Justice Department -- including the Drug Enforcement Administration -- from spending any money to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. This would effectively end the federal government’s attacks on medical marijuana patients and providers.
"This year, on the anniversary of Mr. Rosenthal’s sentencing, ASA is joining a National Day of Action, with the purpose of educating targeted members of Congress about the Hinchey amendment. ASA is joining with MPP and other organizations in lobbying to pass the Hinchey Amendment this year. We only need 66 more votes to pass the amendment, and we need your help to get them.
"On June 4, hundreds of volunteers from around the country will converge on their U.S. representatives’ district offices to hand out literature urging members of Congress to support ending federal attacks on sick and dying patients in medical marijuana states. Please help us convince Congress to protect patients from arrest and prison by taking part in this grassroots lobbying campaign.
"To see how your member of Congress voted, visit http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=676 If they voted No on the Hinchey Amendment last year, please join us in either setting up a meeting while they are in the district, or flyering outside their office on June 4. (If you don't know who your representative is, enter your zipcode at http://www.house.gov.) Then get in touch with the ASA office and let us know how you would like to participate."

For more information, contact Americans for Safe Access at 510-486-8083.

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Vermont Medicalizes

The state of Vermont has enacted medical marijuana. The Times Argus reported on May 20, 2004 ( "State Will Legalize Medical Marijuana Use") that "A measure legalizing the use and possession of marijuana by those suffering from AIDS, cancer or multiple sclerosis jumped its final legislative hurdle Wednesday, paving the way for it to become law without the signature of Gov. James Douglas. Senators, voting 20-7 in favor of the heavily lobbied bill, made Vermont's Legislature only the second in the country - Hawaii's is the other - to legalize the use of medical marijuana. The bill was sent to the governor, who confirmed that he will not sign it, meaning it automatically becomes law in five days. Vermont will become the ninth state with such a law on the books."

The move was supported by many in Vermont, and opposed by the White House. According to the Times Argus:
"According to administration officials, the White House asked Douglas to veto the bill. In fact, President Bush's deputy drug enforcement chief came to Vermont last month in a day-long lobbying blitz and, in the last several days, a Bush administration official placed a phone call to Douglas urging him to reject the bill.
"The new law is actually a much narrower package than one passed earlier this year by the Senate. And while the governor was poised to veto that measure, he was said to be aware of the political popularity of making marijuana available to terminally ill people.
"'I believe that we owe Vermonters with debilitating medical conditions the very best that medical science has to offer,' Douglas said. 'Proven science has not demonstrated that marijuana is part of that. Despite that fact, marijuana offers those with the most painful chronic diseases a measure of hope in a time of suffering.'
"The measure's supporters included the leader of Vermont's Catholics, who Wednesday praised the governor for allowing it to become law.
"'I believe this bill is a very encouraging indication that our Legislature and our governor are seriously concerned about improving end-of-life care in Vermont,' said Bishop Kenneth Angell of the Burlington Diocese. 'I know this was a hard decision for Gov. Douglas.'
"Under the new law, Vermonters will be allowed to grow up to three marijuana plants in a locked room and possess two ounces of "usable pot." Users will be under the supervision of the Department of Public Safety."

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Medical Marijuana Measure Advances In Vermont

In Vermont, state legislators are trying to do an end-around to get past an opponent of medicalization who has kept a bill bottled up in his committee for a year. The Rutland Herald reported on April 1, 2004 ( "House Moves Medical Marijuana Bill A Step Forward) that "A long awaited legislative showdown over medical marijuana now appears imminent after supporters Wednesday found a way to get a key House committee to take up the controversial issue.
"The House voted, 79-57, to instruct the Department of Health to study using marijuana as an effective pain-management tool. The vote, which is considered symbolic, shows there is likely significant support among lawmakers to take the next step, which would be allowing physicians to prescribe marijuana for people with serious illnesses, such as cancer or AIDS.
"The Democratically controlled Senate already has passed a marijuana bill, which also allows medical users to grow a small amount of the plant. But Republican Gov. James Douglas opposes letting Vermonters use a drug that is prohibited by federal law.
"Vermont law enforcement officials also oppose legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, but a recent poll indicated more than 70 percent of Vermonters support the drug's use to relieve pain caused by certain medical conditions.
"The Republican chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, Thomas Koch of Barre, has not allowed his committee to discuss the Senate bill, which was passed more than a year ago. But Tuesday a small majority of committee members protested the delay, and Wednesday one of the House's biggest medical marijuana supporters, Rep. David Zuckerman, P-Burlington, forced the issue to the House floor through an amendment to the pain-management bill.
"These two events convinced Koch to schedule a committee discussion for mid-April. Medical marijuana advocates believe there is enough committee support to quickly bring a bill to the House floor, where they predict it will pass."

An attempt at medicalization passed the Vermont House in 2002, however "The Senate killed the bill two years ago because then Gov. Howard Dean refused to sign it. House approval again would all but assure a medical marijuana bill would reach Douglas' desk. The governor on Wednesday did not threaten a veto, but reiterated his displeasure for such a law."

Medicalization in Vermont has picked up a prominent supporter: Vermont's Roman Catholic Bishop Kenneth Angell. According to a report in Seven Days Vermont on April 7, 2004 ( "The Marijuana Bishop?"), "Gloria Gibson, communications director for diocese, sent us the following statement:
"Bishop Angell is indeed in favor of controlled substance prescriptions for medical marijuana. The movement has substantial and respectable support from physicians, social workers and legislators of thought. Certainly the dangers of misuse can be no greater than the existing legal availability of many controlled substances.
"'I believe that such low risk drugs are an important and humane contribution to pain control and quality end-of-life care.'"

The Seven Days article also reported that the Senate committe hearing will be held April 14 and 15. Seven Days noted that "Then on Friday, the ice jam suddenly broke in the House Health and Welfare Committee. That's where S.76, the Senate-passed medical marijuana bill, has languished without discussion since last year. Committee Democrats, with the support of Republican Rep. Anne Donahue of Northfield, finally succeeded in getting Republican Chairman Tom Koch of Barre to hold a vote on discussing the pot bill. On a 6-5 vote, the committee approved two days of testimony on April 14 and 15."

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US House Subcommittee Holds Hearing On Medical Marijuana

The House Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources held a hearing on medical marijuana April 1, 2004. The hearing was chaired by a noted drug-war zealot, Congressman Mark Souder (R) of Indiana.

A transcript of the hearing is available through MAPINC. Witnesses included:
Nora Volkow, Director National Institute of Drug Abuse, NIH
Robert Meyer, Director, Office of Drug Evaluation Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration
James Scott, Board Member, Oregon Board of Medical Examiners
Joan Jerzak, Chief of Enforcement, Medical Board of California
Dr. Claudia Jensen, Ventura, Calif.
Robert Kampia, Executive Director, Marijuana Policy Project
Dr. Robert Dupont, Institute for Behavior and Health Inc.
Patricia Good, Chief, Liaison and Policy, Diversion Control Program, Drug Enforcement Administration

Though the topic of the hearing was medical marijuana, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) of the District of Columbia called for more than just medicalization. During her remarks at the beginning of the hearing, Ms. Norton said "When it comes to medical marijuana, we are about a serious matter and one that, frankly, I think our government could have found the answer, one way or the other to, long before now.
"But the greatest objection I have is not about this medical controversy. Most people with AIDS today are today are not going to seek medical marijuana. This is not a raging controversy in the country.
"Do you know what is a raging controversy in the county? It is putting young people in jail for smoking pot. Wherever you stand on these matters, it doesn't seem to me that we ought to ruin a kids life by giving him a record for smoking pot."

A segment of the hearing featuring proponents of medicalization can be found by clicking here. Also, a PDF file of MPP Executive Director Rob Kampia's prepared testimony is available through the Marijuana Policy Project.

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Hawaii Medical Marijuana Bill Stuck In Committee

A bill in the Hawaiian legislature to modify their medical marijuana program appears to be dead this session. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on March 22, 2004 ( "Medical Marijuana Bill Appears Stalled") that "A Senate bill to transfer the state medical marijuana program from the Department of Safety to the Department of Health appears stymied this session.
"The Senate passed SB 2641, SD2, on a vote of 22 to 1, with Sen. Cal Kawamoto ( D, Waipahu ) the only opponent.
"But Rep. Ken Ito ( D, Heeia-Kaneohe ), House Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee chairman, said he does not plan to hold a hearing on the bill.
"He said both departments strongly oppose the transfer, 'and when you get two departments testifying strongly against it, you know there is going to be a veto message' by the governor.
"Eight states, including Hawaii, have medical marijuana laws, and the program is in the health department in all other states except Nevada, which has it in the agriculture department, said Pamela Lichty, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.
"'We're disappointed that Rep. Ito has apparently decided not to hear it, because we think it's clearly a health issue and belongs in the Department of Health,' Lichty said."

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Federal Judge Rules That Medical Necessity May Be Used As A Defense

A federal judge in California has ruled that medical necessity can be used as a defense against marijuana charges. The San Jose Mercury News reported on March 23, 2004 ( "Medical Marijuana Use Could Be Used As Defense, Federal Judge Rules") that "A couple charged with growing marijuana may be allowed to present evidence to a jury that it was being used for medicinal purposes. Monday's ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Nora M. Manella to allow Anna Barrett and her husband, Gary, to make such a case comes in the wake of a December ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The December ruling concluded that a congressional act outlawing the drug may not apply to sick people with a doctor's recommendation in states with medical marijuana laws. Manella ordered Barrett, 32, and her 35-year-old husband to stand trial Aug. 31. They are to return to court July 19 to outline the grounds for their defense. 'I'm still overwhelmed,' Anna Barrett, said after the hearing. 'I'm really grateful to Judge Manella that she's even allowing us to show our case.'"

According to the Mercury News, "Defense lawyers wanted the charges dismissed based on the appellate court's ruling. But Manella said the government had enough evidence that the couple may have been growing their marijuana for a 'commercial operation,' allowing the case to go to trial. The judge also warned Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Loeser that if the government can't show at trial that the couple were indeed growing the marijuana for that purpose, prosecutors will likely have a weak case. 'If a jury believes they were growing marijuana solely for themselves and not for distribution, why would they not be entitled to an acquittal?' she asked. Steph Sherer, head of the nonprofit medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access, who uses medical marijuana, said she was buoyed by the decision. 'Before now people like me would have to either go to trial and basically offer no defense, because we couldn't mention medical marijuana, or plead and depend on the judge's discretion in sentencing,' Sherer said. The Barretts, who both have physician approval to use the drug, pleaded guilty in 2000 to growing marijuana. Under a plea agreement, they were allowed to grow 34 adult-flowering plants and keep up to 7.1 pounds of pot."

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Canadian Health Agency To Try Distributing Medical Marijuana Through Pharmacies

The Canadian health agency Health Canada plans to begin a pilot project to distribute medical marijuana through pharmacies. The London Free Press reported on March 22, 2004 ( "Drugstores Will Carry Marijuana") that "Health Canada plans to make government-certified marijuana available in pharmacies, a move that could rapidly boost the number of registered medical users. Officials are organizing a pilot project in British Columbia, modelled on a year-old program in the Netherlands, that would allow medical users to buy marijuana at their local drugstore. Currently, there are 78 medical users in Canada permitted to buy Health Canada marijuana, which is grown in Flin Flon, Man. The 30-gram bags of dried buds, sold for $150 each, now are sent by courier directly to patients or to their doctors. But the department is changing the regulations to allow participating pharmacies to stock marijuana for sale to approved patients without a doctor's prescription, similar to regulations governing so-called morning-after pills, emergency contraceptives that can be obtained directly from a pharmacist without the need for a doctor's signature. A notice of the change is expected to be made public this spring, allowing for drugstore distribution later in the year."

The Free Press noted that "The pilot project is slated for British Columbia because the province's college of pharmacists issued a groundbreaking statement last fall supporting the distribution of medical marijuana in pharmacies, unlike most health-care organizations which have opposed easier access. Although the number of current approved users is small, O'Brien [Robin O'Brien, a consulting pharmacist who is organizing the pilot project for Health Canada] notes internal surveys for Health Canada have suggested up to seven per cent of the British Columbia population -- or about 290,000 people -- use marijuana for medical purposes, albeit illegally. Easier availability of certified marijuana might encourage more medical users to register with the government, rapidly boosting the number taking advantage of legal dope, says O'Brien."

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Medical Marijuana Legislation Advances In New York State

Legal medical marijuana is coming closer to reality in New York state as a bill moves through the legislature there. The Albany Times Union reported on Feb. 25, 2004 ( "Medical Marijuana Measure Advances") that "A bill legalizing the medical use of marijuana is gaining momentum in the state Assembly, with bipartisan sponsorship and a successful vote Tuesday in the Assembly Health Committee. The bill, which would allow primarily terminally ill patients to be prescribed marijuana for nausea, pain and other symptoms, has 41 Assembly sponsors, including seven Republicans."

The legislation is attracting broad support. The Middletown, NY Times Herald-Record reported on Feb. 25, 2004 ( "Medical Marijuana Bill Gains Kirwan's Support") that "A leading law-and-order Assembly Republican says it's high time New York made marijuana available for medicinal use. Assemblyman Tom Kirwan, a former State Police lieutenant who is considered one of the most conservative members of his house, joined a growing number of Republicans yesterday in co-sponsoring a Democratic bill to legalize medicinal marijuana. The bill, first introduced in 1997, would allow doctors to prescribe pot for patients suffering life-threatening, degenerative or disabling diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. 'If that's going to ease their pain, how can you be against it?' said Kirwan, R-C-Newburgh. A litany of well-regarded medical associations and publications say marijuana in its natural form is more effective in treating a variety of symptoms than the synthetic pill version prescribed since 1986."

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Medical Marijuana Week '04 Feb. 15-22

Americans for Safe Access has announced that Medical Marijuana Week 2004 will begin on Feb. 15. According to ASA:

"National Medical Marijuana Awareness Week, from February 15th-23rd, is our chance to tip the balance in the battle for patients' rights.
"Thanks to your help, National Medical Marijuana Awareness Week was a tremendous success in 2003. The actions of advocates raised awareness of the issues facing patients and the injustice of prosecutions. Great events across the country produced news stories in leading newspapers, network programs on patients and providers, and the launching of major national legislation. The momentum from last year's National Medical Marijuana Awareness Week has propelled dramatic advances in protecting patients' rights, with increasingly lenient federal sentences, major Constitutional victories in federal courts and more favorable laws proposed and enacted."

For a Medical MJ Week '04 calendar of events, click here. For more information, contact Americans for Safe Access.

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Canadian Federal Government Decides Not To Prosecute Medical Marijuana Activists In Toronto Compassion Centre Case

The Canadian federal government will not proceed with the prosecution of two men arrested in connection with the Toronto Compassion Centre, the Toronto Globe & Mail reported on Jan. 28, 2004 ( "Ottawa Won't Prosecute Medical Marijuana Activists"). According to the Globe & Mail, "Citizen groups that provide medicinal marijuana to the chronically-ill are rejoicing today amid news that Ottawa will not proceed with trafficking charges laid against two men operating a well-known Toronto care centre. The Globe and Mail has learned that the federal government will refrain from pursuing a prosecution against two men who operated a Toronto organization whose workers were devoted to dispensing cannabis to patients suffering from persistent illnesses like AIDS and other ailments. The men's preliminary hearing was to have started today."

(For more background on the case, see for example "Compassion Centre's Future Unclear," Toronto Star, Aug. 16, 2002.)

The Globe & Mail noted that "Mr. [Warren] Hitzig, 27, and a colleague, Zach Naftolin, were charged in 2002 after the Toronto Compassion Centre they helped to operate was robbed and investigating police later found large quantities of marijuana on the premises. Mr. Hitzig said he was informed last week that the charges would not go ahead. However, sources were unclear whether they would be withdrawn or stayed. A stayed charged means police have the right to proceed for up to a year. He said many other such clubs across had been concerned they would be the next ones to face charges, and are encouraged now that they will be able to operate without that fear. 'I think that's the message, but they were also really scared. They don't want to go through the same thing that I did,' he said. He said that recently-established regulations that allow chronically-ill Canadians to access the drug are very onerous, necessitating the need for his organization and others like it. Mr. Hitzig and Mr. Naftolin no longer run the club, which has since begun operating in another location. 'The government has to do something. It's popping up all over the world,' he said. 'Health Canada get your act together.' The operator of a Vancouver centre said the decision may encourage others to provide the service. 'I think it's another note of recognition of the service we are providing,' said Hilary Black, co-director of the B.C. Compassion Club Society. Ms. Black, whose club currently provides marijuana to 2,800 individuals, said her organization regularly receives inquiries from individuals wanting to set up clubs but who are concerned about whether it's safe to do so."

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County Prosecutor Turns Two Medical Marijuana Patients Over To Feds

Two medical marijuana patients, facing prosecution by their California county, were turned over to federal authorities shortly after they showed up for their court appearance. The Oakland Tribune reported on Jan. 16, 2004 ( "Couple Busted For Pot Is Turned Over To Feds") that "An Oakland man who went to state court this week to mount a medical defense to marijuana charges was instead handed over to federal authorities, who have filed charges that could put him and a co-defendant behind bars for the rest of their lives. David Davidson, 52, an Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative member, and Cynthia Blake, 53, of Red Bluff, are to be arraigned today by U.S. Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows of Sacramento. They're charged with manufacturing more than 100 marijuana plants and conspiracy to cultivate more than 1,000 marijuana plants. The former is punishable by five to 40 years in federal prison; the latter by a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life."

The Tribune reported that "Davidson and Blake both have doctor's recommendations to use marijuana as medicine, as required by state law, and Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative medical director Dr. Michael Alcalay went to Tehama County Superior Court in Corning on Tuesday to testify on Davidson's behalf. But Tehama County assistant District Attorney Lynn Strom unexpectedly announced the state would drop its charges against the pair, and she and the pair's lawyers went into a judge's chambers to discuss why. When they did, Tehama County Sheriff's deputies -- acting on federal authority under a local-federal drug task force's auspices -- arrested the pair on the federal charges, issued last week by a grand jury in Sacramento."

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Detroit Voters To Decide In 2004 On Legalizing Medical Marijuana

The city of Detroit will vote on the question of legalizing marijuana for medical use in 2004. The Detroit Free Press reported on November 21, 2003 ( "Medicinal Pot Headed To '04 Detroit Ballot"), "Detroiters will have a chance to vote on the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes next August. If the issue passes, authorities said users in Detroit would be exempt from marijuana-possession laws if they have a medical need for the drug. Earlier this month, Detroit City Clerk Jackie Currie validated 7,779 of the signatures submitted by the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care, a group of metro Detroiters that has been fighting to get marijuana on the ballot for several years. The law requires 6,141 valid signatures. In 2001, the group gathered more than enough valid signatures, but the City of Detroit's law department challenged the petition, citing technicalities, and kept the measure off the ballot. 'The law department has raised no objections this time,' said coalition founder and chairman Tim Beck of Detroit. 'So the Detroit Medical Marijuana Initiative question will finally appear on the primary ballot next August.'"

As the Free Press noted, "National advocates said medicinal marijuana use will be a good thing for Detroit. 'It keeps police from wasting time and valuable resources,' said Kevin Zeese, president of Common Sense for Drug Policy, based in Washington, DC. Zeese estimated that it can take police up to four hours to arrest, book and release people during a routine marijuana arrest. 'And for the patient, it would make them feel secure that they won't be harassed by law enforcement,' Zeese said. The medicinal value of marijuana has been recognized by numerous national organizations and medical institutions. Medical use of the drug has been approved in California, Nevada, Oregon, Maine, Washington, Colorado, Alaska, Arizona and Hawaii. And last fall, the Canadian Parliament legalized medical use of marijuana."

For more information on the Detroit initiative, visit the website for Medical Marijuana Detroit, sponsors of the Detroit Medical Marijuana Initiative.

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DEA Refuses Judge's Order To Return Medicine To Colorado Medical Marijuana Patient

A medical marijuana patient in Colorado seeking the return of his medicine is meeting resistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. As the Rocky Mountain News reported on Jan. 1, 2004 ( "Pot Smoker Wants Agents To Be Cited"), "A Hayden man whose medical marijuana was seized in a raid by local and federal drug agents asked a judge Wednesday to find the officers in contempt for refusing to return the plants. Earlier in December, a Routt County judge ordered the drug task force to return 2 ounces of the marijuana by Monday. The man's attorney filed for a contempt citation Wednesday. Don Nord, 57, is disabled by a work injury and ill with cancer, diabetes and other maladies. He is registered with the state medical marijuana program, entitling him to keep marijuana, under state law. Federal law makes no such allowance for marijuana, and the Drug Enforcement Administration remains adamant that it will not return Nord's pot. 'Under federal law, marijuana is contraband, and by policy, we destroy contraband,' said U.S. attorney's spokesman Dick Weatherbee. DEA spokesman Bill Grant said the agency isn't bound by the order of Routt County Judge James Garrecht."

Criminal charges against Nord were dropped. The News noted that "Kris Hammond, Nord's attorney, said denying a sick man medication OK'd by a doctor is 'ridiculous. This has got to be stopped. Sick, old people are being denied their medication, and he's a totally harmless guy.' Nord, who also has lung disease and needs supplemental oxygen, lives on $642 a month in a small apartment and relies on friends to help him cover the cost of prescription drugs - some of which he wouldn't have to take if he could resume marijuana use. A former maintenance worker, Nord was injured in a fall on the job and was disabled in 1985. 'The only thing that relaxes me so I can sleep is marijuana, and it's better for pain, too,' he said. 'The reason I started this whole thing about returning it is so it doesn't happen to anybody else.' Police raided Nord's apartment Oct. 14, seizing three marijuana plants, growing equipment and pipes. Nord was ticketed for misdemeanor drug possession, but the charges were dropped. The government said it lost its copy of the ticket. Hammond then persuaded the judge to order the DEA to return Nord's growing equipment, pipes and 2 ounces of marijuana."

You can search the MAPINC archive for more stories about this case by clicking here.

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Federal Appeals Court: Prosecution Of Medical Marijuana Patients In States Permitting Medical Cannabis Is Unconstitutional

Medical marijuana patients were handed a victory in mid-Dec. 2003. As the Oakland Tribune reported on Dec. 17, 2003 ( "Feds Ordered To Halt Pot Raids"), "U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson should be temporarily barred from treating medical marijuana patients as criminals, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. Lawyers for the plaintiffs -- a medical marijuana patient from Oakland, two unnamed Oakland growers who supply her and an Oroville patient who grows her own -- called the 2-1 ruling a major victory. 'We feel we've been vindicated after a long, hard effort,' said Oakland attorney Robert Raich, both a lawyer for and husband of Oakland plaintiff Angel McClary Raich. He said his wife 'was jubilant, absolutely elated' and will 'take a deep sigh of relief knowing she will finally be safe,' no longer fearing she'll be denied medicine she needs to stay alive.' Boston University Law Professor Randy Barnett, who argued the case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, called this 'a tremendous victory on behalf of suffering people' and proof 'that federalism is not just a doctrine for political conservatives.' The ruling sends the case back to U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins of San Francisco, ordering him to issue a preliminary injunction blocking more raids until the case is tried. But the Justice Department, which doesn't comment on pending cases, could ask that Tuesday's ruling be reviewed by a larger 9th Circuit panel or by the U.S. Supreme Court."

The Boulder Daily Camera carried an Associated Press story on the decision in its Dec. 17, 2003 edition ( "Federal Appeals Court Approves Medical Marijuana In Some Cases"). According to it, "'The intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking,' Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the majority. The court added that 'this limited use is clearly distinct from the broader illicit drug market, as well as any broader commercial market for medical marijuana, insofar as the medical marijuana at issue in this case is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce.'"

The Washington Times, in its story of Dec. 17, 2003 ( "Appeals Court OKs Medicinal Pot"), noted that "At this time, the appellate ruling is limited to two seriously-ill California women, who sought a court order that would let them obtain and smoke marijuana without facing federal prosecution, and two 'John Does,' who grow the pot consumed by one of the sick women, according to Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman. Mr. Miller declined to speculate on the potential effect of the ruling. Keith Stroup, executive director and founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ), said it is 'technically true' that the immediate effects of the ruling are limited to four persons. 'But the legal doctrine laid out by the 9th Circuit applies to all states in the 9th Circuit with medical marijuana laws ... so this decision is enormously significant,' Mr. Stroup added. States under the 9th Circuit include California, Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Robert Raich, a lawyer in the case, said the decision would be 'binding only in the 9th Circuit,' but he believes the ruling could be 'persuasive' in its influence throughout the country."

A copy of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the case, Raich v. Ashcroft, is available by clicking here.

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Americans For Safe Access Targets Congress Members Urging Support For Medical Marijuana, Opposition To DEA Raids

Americans for Safe Access has initiated a campaign to urge voters to contact US House members regarding their support for medical marijuana and their willingness to oppose DEA raids on medical cannabis providers and patients. The Oakland Tribune reported on Nov. 21, 2003 ( "Local Medical Marijuana Campaign Targets Congress") that "Registered voters in the districts of Wally Herger, R-Marysville; Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley; Joe Baca, D-Rialto; and David Wu, D-Oregon, began receiving phone calls Thursday morning that told them the lawmakers had voted against a bipartisan amendment to cut off funding for federal raids on California's and Oregon's medical marijuana providers and patients. The amendment was defeated July 23 on a 273-152 vote."

The Tribune noted that "The recorded messages are from Angel McClary Raich -- an Oakland patient now suing the federal government to halt the raids that she says are depriving her and others of medicine they need to survive -- and Marney Craig of Novato -- a juror who says she was "duped" into convicting Oakland marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal this year by a federal justice system that didn't let all the facts be heard. Raich's message in part says, "I'm a medical marijuana patient, and your Congressman ... is threatening my life. My weight has dropped to 98 pounds, and my doctor says that marijuana is keeping me alive. But even though it's legal in California, Congressman ... is supporting the federal government's war on patients like me." And Craig's message, in part, says, "I was one of the jurors in a medical marijuana trial and we were hoodwinked by the federal prosecutors ... Your Congressman ... had a chance to end this federal deception but he voted to let it continue." The campaign is being mounted by Berkeley-based Americans for Safe Access; director Steph Sherer said it will cost under $100,000 raised from among the group's membership to reach more than 600,000 voters. "The issue is gaining momentum," she said Thursday. "This is about compassion for the sick and dying.""

To find out more, check out the ASA website. To find out how your Representative voted on the Hinchey-Rohrbacher amendment, click here. To send your Representative a message about this issue, click here.

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Americans For Safe Access Launches New Ad Campaign Targeting California's Two US Senators, Urging Support For HR 1717 'Truth In Trials Act'

A coalition of medical marijuana patients, doctors and supporters have today launched a statewide ad campaign aimed at California's two senators. Americans for Safe Access is asking Senators Boxer and Feinstein to add their names to new federal legislation that would allow a medical defense in some federal marijuana trials.

The fullpage ads appear beginning Oct. 16 in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, LA Weekly, Sacramento News and Review, the San Diego Reader and the Santa Barbara Independent.

The ads ask California voters to contact their senators about co-sponsoring the Senate version of the Truth in Trials Act (HR 1717), a bi-partisan bill introduced in the House by California’s Dana Rohrabacher (R) and Sam Farr (D) as a result of the jury revolt in the Ed Rosenthal case. A majority of that jury repudiated their guilty verdict after learning that Mr. Rosenthal had been cultivating marijuana for patients with the blessing of local authorities.

(For more information about HR1717, check out this info sheet from Green-Aid.)

Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, doctors may now speak freely to their patients about using marijuana medicinally, but the drug remains illegal for any use under federal law. As a result, neither patients nor their providers may use medical evidence in their defense, should federal authorities charge them.

The Truth in Trials Act attempts to fix that. It would allow federal defendants in states that allow medical use to present evidence showing they were in compliance with state law.

For more information, check out Americans For Safe Access.

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Supreme Court Rejects Federal Appeal, Upholds Right Of Doctors To Discuss Medical Marijuana With Patients

The US Supreme Court has allowed a ruling in the case of Walters v. Conant (03-40) to stand, affirming the right of doctors to discuss medical marijuana with their patients. The Associated Press reported on Oct. 14, 2003 ( "Supreme Court Rejects Anti-Marijuana Case") that "Justices turned down the Bush administration's request to consider whether the federal government can punish doctors for recommending or perhaps even talking about the benefits of the drug to sick patients. An appeals court said they cannot." As AP noted, "The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that physicians should be able to speak candidly with patients without fear of government sanctions, but they can be punished if they actually help patients obtain the drug."

According to AP, "Some California doctors and patients, in filings at the Supreme Court, compared doctor information on pot to physicians' advice on 'red wine to reduce the risk of heart disease, Vitamin C, acupuncture, or chicken soup.'" As AP reported, "Some people had expected the Supreme Court to step into the case, which comes from California, the battleground over the subject. Keith Vines, a prosecutor in San Francisco who used marijuana to overcome HIV-related illnesses, was among those who challenged a policy, put in place during the Clinton administration. That policy requires the revocation of federal prescription licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana. 'If the government is zipping them up, and we're not being told about options, that's negligence,' Vines said."

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Scientists Find Short-Term Marijuana Use Not Unsafe For HIV-Infected Individuals

Research published in the respected medical journal The Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that marijuana use does not impair the immune systems of individuals with HIV, and may even lead to improvements. The Reuters news service reported on Aug. 18, 2003 ( "Marijuana Use Does Not Accelerate HIV Infection"), that "Dr. Donald I. Abrams, from the University of California at San Francisco, and colleagues assessed the outcomes of 67 HIV-infected patients who were randomly assigned to use marijuana cigarettes, cannabinoid capsules, or sugar pills ( placebo ) three times daily for 21 days. All of the patients had been receiving the same antiretroviral regimen, which included indinavir or nelfinavir, for at least 8 weeks before the study began. More than half of the subjects in each group had undetectable viral loads throughout the study, the researchers note. Although not statistically significant, marijuana and cannabinoid use were actually associated with a slight drop in viral load compared with placebo use. Marijuana and cannabinoid use did not produce a drop in CD4+ or CD8+ cell counts. In fact, compared with placebo use, treatment with these agents was actually associated with a slight increase in cell counts. The results suggest that short-term cannabinoid use is not unsafe for patients with HIV infection, the authors note. "Further studies investigating the therapeutic potential of marijuana and other cannabinoids in patients with HIV infection and other populations are ongoing and should provide additional safety information over longer exposure periods," they write."

A copy of the study, "Short Term Effects of Cannabinoids in Patients with HIV-1 Infection," is available online.

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Rosenthal Sentenced To Time Served, Fine And Probation; Supporters, Activists Pleased, Yet Ask 'What About The Other Medical Growers Serving Long Prison Terms?'

Ed Rosenthal, noted author and marijuana expert, was sentenced to much less than the mandatory minimum set by federal law on Wednesday, June 4, 2003. As reported by the Oakland Tribune on June 5, 2003 ( "Rosenthal Gets Slap On Wrist"), "Renowned marijuana activist and author Ed Rosenthal walked out of court a free man Wednesday after a federal judge sentenced him to just one day in prison -- time he already served -- for three marijuana-growing felonies. Medical marijuana advocates across the nation hailed the ruling as a major victory and the beginning of the end for the federal ban on the drug, even though the judge said the leniency shown Rosenthal won't be shown anyone who follows in his footsteps. And although elated by his reprieve, the self-styled 'Guru of Ganja' immediately cast himself as a Moses of marijuana, exhorting the federal pharaohs to let his people go so he can lead them into the promised land of legalization."

The judge made clear that, though he did accept the contention that Ed believed the City of Oakland's permission was sufficient to shield him, which justified the sentence reduction -- certainly it couldn't have been the enormous pressure of media and public scrutiny of this case, as even the NY Times editorialized in Ed's defense -- that future defendants would not be so lucky. According to the Tribune, "Breyer said Wednesday that he believed Rosenthal reasonably -- albeit erroneously -- thought the state and local laws immunized him from federal prosecution. Although not a permissible defense, the judge said, it is a mitigating factor that justifies an enormous reduction from the sentence Rosenthal otherwise would have faced. Yet no future defendant will be able to claim this good-faith belief in immunity, Breyer said -- the rulings and the extensive news coverage this case produced put everyone on notice that states and cities cannot shield medical marijuana providers and patients from the long arm of federal law. Two of the counts of which Rosenthal was convicted were punishable by five to 40 years in prison, the third by up to 20 years. A mandatory minimum of five years applied, but Breyer -- over Assistant U.S. Attorney George L. Bevan Jr.'s objection -- found Rosenthal eligible for a 'safety valve' exception to that minimum because he had a clean record, wasn't violent, didn't hurt anyone, didn't lead others in committing his crime and provided the government with truthful information. Breyer also overruled Bevan to grant additional leniency for Rosenthal's acceptance of responsibility for his acts."

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Profile In Political Courage: Maryland's Republican Governor Resists White House Pressure, Signs Medical Marijuana Legislation

In spite of strong pressure from the Bush White House, Maryland's Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich signed legislation to reduce the penalties for medical marijuana use. The Washington Post reported in a front-page story on May 23, 2003 ( "Ehrlich Signs Marijuana Bill") that "As he made some of the biggest policy decisions of his first year in office, Ehrlich crossed swords with politicians from liberals to Bush administration officials. On other issues, he won praise from the same groups, reinforcing his record as a lawmaker who is careful not to stray too far from the center. 'These are not easy issues, not easy bills,' Ehrlich said of the measures he has signed and vetoed over the past two days. Taken together, he said, his decisions reflect an administration committed to bipartisan governance and 'balanced with a unique dash of independence.' He was particularly firm in his support for the marijuana measure. It does not legalize the drug but provides that seriously ill people caught using marijuana for medical purposes cannot be jailed or be fined more than $100. The White House and some conservative supporters urged the governor to reject the bill, but Ehrlich cited his longtime support for the measure. 'If you look at my views over the years, there are clearly two wings of the party on social issues,' he said. 'One is more conservative, and one is more libertarian. I belong to the latter, and I always have.'"

The Washington Post further reported on the medical marijuana measure in a story in its Metro section, also on May 23, 2003 ( "Ehrlich Signs Marijuana Law"). According to it, "Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. signed legislation yesterday to dramatically reduce criminal penalties for cancer patients and others who smoke marijuana to relieve suffering, but the new law will not allow seriously ill people to obtain the drug legally. The measure, which takes effect Oct. 1, merely makes (medical necessity) a defense against charges of marijuana possession. Instead of facing a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, those who can convince a judge that they use marijuana to relieve symptoms of a chronic or life-threatening illness will have to pay a fine of no more than $100. Though the Maryland law falls short of measures in California and seven other states where marijuana use is legal for medical purposes, advocates said it sends an important message of support to sick people and their caregivers -- as well as to police and prosecutors, who might otherwise brand them criminals. 'It helps a little bit,' said Erin Hildebrandt, 32, a mother of five from Smithsburg who has used marijuana to relieve pain from Crohn's disease. 'At least I know I'm not going to be hauled off to prison if I'm caught.'"

The governor faced a good deal of opposition from outside Maryland on this issue. The Post reported that "Ehrlich's decision to sign the bill puts him at odds with conservatives in his party and with the Bush White House, which lobbied hard and applied 'a lot of pressure,' Ehrlich said, to persuade him to veto the bill. Tom Riley, a spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy, confirmed that White House drug czar John P. Walters and his deputy telephoned Ehrlich to express the administration's opposition. Walters, who has launched a national campaign against efforts to relax state drug laws, has said that arguments for medicinal marijuana make no more sense than 'an argument for medicinal crack.'"

(Regarding the 'crack' comment, in a column on this story ( "Reefer Sanity Vs. Puritans In The White House") on May 28, 2003, the Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page noted: "Funny he should say that. Marijuana is listed along with heroin and LSD as a 'Schedule I' drug, the category for drugs with 'no acceptable medical benefits' under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Cocaine is listed in Schedule II for drugs that have 'a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.' Categorizing marijuana as more dangerous than cocaine is one of many examples of how far our federal drug policy is removed from the real world.")

In another example of the disconnect between the real world and federal drug policy, the Post quotes a former federal narcotics official who lives in Maryland and opposed the move. "'This is a rotten and wrongheaded piece of work that will benefit the pro-marijuana lobby and the potheads of Maryland,' said Malcolm Lawrence of Chevy Chase, a former State Department official in charge of international narcotics control in the Nixon and Carter administrations. Lawrence said he voted for Ehrlich and contributed to his political campaign but now will 'vote for anyone but Robert Ehrlich' in 2006."

The Post also reports that other Maryland Republicans, including many lawmakers, support the Governor's position. "While some Republicans criticized Ehrlich, others stepped forward to praise his support for medical marijuana. The issue first came before the Maryland General Assembly four years ago, after Darrell Putman, a former Army Green Beret and Howard County Farm Bureau director, found that smoking marijuana helped relieve the pain of cancer, which killed him in 1999. Putman convinced then-Del. Donald E. Murphy ( R-Baltimore County ) to sponsor legislation that would have allowed seriously ill people to grow as many as seven marijuana plants for personal consumption. Murphy, who now chairs the Baltimore County GOP, and Putman's widow, Shay, were on hand yesterday to celebrate the bill's signing. They were joined by Sen. David R. Brinkley ( R-Frederick ), a cancer survivor who advocates decriminalizing marijuana for medical purposes and won election last year against two Republican opponents in one of the most conservative districts in the state. 'I think Washington is out of step on this issue,' Brinkley said. 'Compassion needs to be overriding. These people are not criminals.'"

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Ed Rosenthal Found Guilty; NY Times Editorializes In His Favor

Update:

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Rallies In Sacramento, CA and Washington, DC Protest Federal Crusade Against Medical Cannabis

Peaceful rallies and nonviolent civil disobedience actions were held in Sacramento, CA and Washington, DC on Sept. 23, 2002 to protest the continuing federal crusade against medical cannabis. As the Oroville, CA Mercury-Register reported on Sept. 24, 2002 ( "Federal Stance On State's Medical Marijuana Law Protested"), "Declaring the war on drugs has unjustly been extended to the seriously ill in California who use marijuana on the advice of their physicians, hundreds protested at the state Capitol on Monday, calling on the federal government to leave people's medicine alone."

Protesters arrived by the busload at the state capitol. The Mercury-Register noted that:
"Aboard one of those buses, Marie Santiago, 56, said she made the eight-hour trip from Los Angeles to protest the federal government's recent crackdown against medical marijuana growers and those seriously ill and injured patients who, like herself, smoke pot 'so life is worth living.'
"'Before I got cancer, I had never even taken a drag off a cigarette,' Santiago said. 'But the chemo made me so sick that I had to do something. I'm in pain. I am not a criminal.'
"But the grandmother of five is a criminal in the eyes of the federal government, and she knows it.
"Also picketing on the Capitol's south lawn was Roger Moore of South Pasadena, who said he has been smoking pot since 1996. He credits his daily toke with helping him to offset the side effects of his chemotherapy treatments for an illness he declined to disclose.
"'I can take a hit - or two - of marijuana, and not have to get up the first thing in the morning to puke my brains out, like I did for years,' said Moore. He got his medical marijuana from the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center until federal officials raided the West Hollywood facility on Oct. 25, 2001, confiscating nearly 900 plants and the records of its members.
"Santiago and Moore are among the hundreds of medical marijuana users caught in the middle of an intensifying turf battle between state officials and the federal government."

The current administration has also changed some of the rules under which prosecutors and drug enforcers used to operate in order to focus on small medical cannabis providers. The Mercury-Register reported that "Until recently, the DEA adhered to a Clinton administration guideline that stated federal agents would not pursue cases of marijuana cultivation if fewer than 100 plants were involved. But so far under the Bush administration, several small-scale medical marijuana growers have faced federal indictment."

Later in the afternoon, some protesters left the rally and went to the federal building in Sacramento, where they engaged in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. As the Sacramento Bee reported on Sept. 24, 2002 ( "Medical Marijuana Activists Are Arrested"), "Nearly 30 advocates for medical marijuana were arrested and cited for public disturbance during a protest at the federal courthouse on Monday. The protest started at noon on the south lawn of the State Capitol. Hundreds of protesters from all over California gathered to make a stance against the federal government's recent raids of medical marijuana suppliers. 'It's culminated in a huge outcry and the anger has really been building,' said Judy Appel, the deputy director of legal affairs for Drugs Policy Alliance. 'We hope to send a clear message to Washington that we want the government to stop impeding clear access to medicine.' An hour later, about 250 protesters walked the few blocks to the federal building at Fifth and I streets."

Though it drew a much smaller crowd, another set of protesters rallied in Washington, DC at the White House. Reuters News Service reported late in the afternoon of Sept. 23, 2002 ( "Marijuana Protest Leads To Arrests At White House") that "Two people were arrested Monday after handcuffing themselves to the White House fence to protest recent federal government raids on 'medical marijuana' cooperatives in California. The arrests occurred after about two dozen demonstrators gathered in front of the White House, holding signs and chanting slogans demanding an end to what they see as Bush administration interference with state laws governing marijuana use. About an hour after the protests began, US Park Police took a pair of protesters into custody who had bound themselves to the iron barricade separating the White House lawn from Pennsylvania Avenue." A picture of the protesters, from the Sept. 24 edition of USA Today, can be viewed by clicking here. Also, a video of the DC event is available through Sinkers.org.

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Additional Information & State-Wide Efforts

A number of older stories from this page have been archived and are available by clicking here.

Click on this link to view an article from the Nov.-Dec. 2000 issue of The American Nurse, "A Virginia Nurse Takes On A Tough Issue - Medical Marijuana".

Click on this link to view articles on medical marijuana from the MAP media archive.

Get the Facts about Medical Marijuana from the online publication Drug War Facts.

Updates on medical marijuana issues can be obtained from NORML, from the Marijuana Policy Project, the Drug Policy Alliance, and from Americans for Safe Access.

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copyright © 2000-2007, Common Sense for Drug Policy Kevin B. Zeese, President -- Mike Gray, Chairman -- Robert E. Field, Co-Chairman -- Melvin R. Allen, Board Member -- Doug McVay, Director of Research & Editor 1377-C Spencer Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603 tel 717-299-0600 - fax 717-393-4953 Updated: Monday, August 24, 2009   ~   Accessed: 405802 times Email us