|
|
| Jon Carroll: The Case of Angel Raich |
|
Posted by CN Staff on March 19, 2007 at 07:27:50 PT By Jon Carroll Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
San Francisco, CA -- So today we have the case of Angel Raich, who has been using medical marijuana since 1997 to cope with the pain of scoliosis, endometriosis, seizures and a serious wasting disease. She says marijuana is the only thing that relieves her pain. She uses marijuana every day, even though it is against federal law. Her doctor says that if she stops using marijuana, she will die in agony. She is not fond of being a lawbreaker. She is not fond of waiting for the feds to confiscate her stash and bring her up for arraignment on felony charges. So she has sued the government, contesting the ban on medical marijuana. Her case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where her petition was denied. Her very last constitutional challenge was denied last week, when a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court "reluctantly" agreed that she had no case. Actually, the reluctance part was only a 2-1 decision, because Judge Arlen Beam, visiting from St. Louis, said that he wasn't reluctant at all and that bad people should be punished. Here I paraphrase. So on one side: seriously ill woman in excruciating pain. On the other side: comfortable judges expressing tasteful reluctance. I know, if we ignore the laws we rip the fabric of society, and we can't break a law just because we don't agree with it, and we certainly can't interpret laws in order to get a desirable outcome. Oh yes, and that never happens. Except, say, for Bush vs. Gore, where the Supreme Court, citing nothing at all that made any sense, made George Bush president because it wanted him to be president. And then it said: This ruling is not a precedent, it's just a thing we felt like doing. Again I paraphrase. So it's OK to bend the rules to get a Republican in the White House, but it's not OK to bend the rules to allow a woman to avoid agony. Yeah, those are values I can live with. Snipped: Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/28qxlv Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Related Articles & Web Site: Angel Justice Dying Woman Loses Appeal on MJ as Medication Court Says U.S. Can Ban Medical Marijuana Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
| Comment #6 posted by Toker00 on March 19, 2007 at 16:22:11 PT |
| That's funny, but that is almost what happened. Good thoughts. You must've had some Bong Hits 4 Jesus. Gives me a great idea! Toke. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by whig on March 19, 2007 at 09:01:49 PT |
| And down it comes. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by whig on March 19, 2007 at 09:01:23 PT |
| How quickly can we bring the Republican party into its own footprint? Like, freefall. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by whig on March 19, 2007 at 08:59:33 PT |
| That's a great article. Happy 3/19 everyone. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by potpal on March 19, 2007 at 08:53:39 PT |
| The full article had not 1 but 3 Levitra ads on it! Cannabis can help there too! Great read though. Forward it around. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by dongenero on March 19, 2007 at 07:50:17 PT |
| Another great editorial here. Well said Mr. Carroll! [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |