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| Medical-Pot Backers Get Cool Reception |
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Posted by FoM on April 20, 2002 at 18:14:14 PT By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer Source: Sacramento Bee 
State and private lawyers trying to salvage California's medical marijuana law got no encouragement from a federal judge during a court hearing Friday. The session was the first on implementing a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision against Proposition 215, which sanctioned pot distribution and use for some Californians with cancer, AIDS and other serious ailments.U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he will rule later. But he showed little interest when a lawyer representing the state argued that the 1996 initiative can be reconciled with a federal ban on pot for any purpose. Taylor S. Carey, a special assistant California attorney general, said constitutional states'-rights principles should protect "wholly intrastate cultivation and distribution of cannabis" from federal interference under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Carey joined lawyers representing marijuana cooperatives in Oakland, San Francisco, Fairfax and Ukiah, who were on the losing side of the Supreme Court case. The high court's 8-0 decision ruled out the defense of "medical necessity" for people charged with violating the federal statute. But it did not finally resolve the underlying dispute -- the federal government's long-standing fight to get a permanent injunction shutting down the pot cooperatives. In renewing the government's bid for an injunction, Mark Quinlivan, a lawyer for the U.S. Department of Justice, said violations were likely without one. Breyer said the only open issue was whether the defendants could assure him that, without being enjoined, they would not "directly or indirectly" distribute marijuana for any reason. "All I can tell you is that the clients will obey the law," said Annette Carnegie, the lawyer for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative. "I'm talking about the federal law," Breyer said. "I'm not talking about the state law." Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/oc.htm OCBC Vs US Government News Oakland Pot Cooperative Heads Back To Court Judge Appears Unswayed by Marijuana Arguments California Cannabis Clubs Organize to Fight Feds Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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