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  Marijuana Advocates File Challenge To San Diego
Posted by CN Staff on January 24, 2006 at 16:20:01 PT
By Elliot Spagata, The Associated Press  
Source: Associated Press 

medical San Diego, CA -- Medicinal marijuana advocates on Tuesday challenged a San Diego County lawsuit that seeks to overturn a state law permitting the use of pot for medical purposes.

The county sued the state of California and its director of health services on Friday in federal court, saying federal law that prohibits marijuana use trumps state law that allows it. California approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes with the passage of Proposition 215, which won 55 percent votes cast in 1996.

San Diego is the only California county that has refused to provide identification cards to registered medical marijuana users.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Safe Access and the Drug Policy Alliance filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of patients including Pamela Sakuda, 58, who uses marijuana to treat side effects of chemotherapy for rectal cancer. The San Diego woman said the drug has quelled nausea and stimulated her appetite.

"The supervisors have turned a deaf ear to the pleas of sick and dying people, and now they have shown that they are equally willing to ignore the law," said Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access.

According to the ACLU, 11 states have approved marijuana for medical purposes. California was first, followed by Montana, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and, most recently, Rhode Island.

The county's five Republican supervisors were mostly silent as several marijuana users urged them Tuesday to drop the lawsuit filed last week in San Diego. One supervisor, Ron Roberts, garnered applause when he said he opposed the lawsuit.

"Your actions are unjust, unlawful and un-American," said Wendy Christakes of La Mesa, an east San Diego suburb, who has used marijuana since 2003 to treat a back injury. She used a cane to step up to the microphone.

Rudy Reyes, 28, said marijuana has allowed him to sleep after massive wildfires in 2003 burned 75 percent of his body and put him in the hospital for eight months. He said doctors at University of California, San Diego Medical Center recommended the drug after his body rejected morphine.

"I don't have flashbacks, I don't have those middle-of-the-night terrors," he said in an interview after urging the supervisors to drop their fight.

Last year, a 3-2 board majority voted to ignore a state requirement that counties issue identification cards for medical marijuana users and maintain a registry of people who apply for the cards. The move came despite a warning from the county counsel that the move would likely result in costly litigation.

Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Advocates File Challenge To San Diego County

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Elliot Spagata, The Associated Press
Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press

Related Articles & Web Sites:

ACLU
http://www.aclu.org/

Drug Policy Alliance
http://www.drugpolicy.org/

Americans For Safe Access
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

Marijuana Patients Serve San Diego Supervisors
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21512.shtml

ACLU To Protest County's Marijuana Lawsuit
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21511.shtml


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Comment #5 posted by Taylor121 on January 25, 2006 at 10:50:12 PT
Sam: ONDCP
I recall seeing in a news article that the ONDCP had thanked the supervisors for their actions. I would not be the least bit surprised if they have had more communication than just that.

A citizen recall initiative is in the works. I believe the MPP is focusing their efforts on that.

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Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 25, 2006 at 03:28:41 PT
Bribed by ONDCP?
I think I know who put the San Diego representatives up to this issue. The suit had to come from a county, because the federal government does not have standing to sue. I still think a citizen initiative to recall these representatives should be initiated immediately.

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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on January 25, 2006 at 03:01:27 PT
I wonder
These silent county supervisors who have launched this litigation, I sure hope that they are paying for this effort out of their own pockets and not using county resources or monies to fund this action.

These silent board members are there to enforce the state laws, if they do not like this law, they can step down from their board positions and as private citizens cough up the money to feed the lawyers to change the law.

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Comment #2 posted by Taylor121 on January 25, 2006 at 01:16:17 PT
Makes me curious
It really makes me think how these people were persuaded that medical marijuana causes more harm than good. The correlation with the 1996 medical marijuana in California showed teen use going down by a substantial %. In the meantime, sick people have their medicine without the fear of arrest, vaporizers and other forms of harm reduction continue to grow in popularity, and some people have gained a better understanding that cannabis isn't about just getting stoned and eating chips on the couch. For some people, it is about life and death, for others it's about living comfortably after failing to do so with FDA approved medications.

I have been extremely pleased with the proactive response by the ACLU, DPA, Americans For Safe Access, MPP, and other like-minded organizations that are fighting for something that is right, something that will ease suffering.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #1 posted by mayan on January 24, 2006 at 18:22:02 PT
What Can They Say?
The county's five Republican supervisors were mostly silent as several marijuana users urged them Tuesday to drop the lawsuit filed last week in San Diego.

What can these cowards possibly say? I have the feeling they wish they'd never got themselves into such a mess.

THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...

Mail Campaign to Professors + Requesting Media Coverage for Upcoming Prof. Jones 9/11 Presentation: http://www.911blogger.com/2006/01/mail-campaign-to-professors-requesting.html

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