cannabisnews.com: Lawsuit Reignites Medicinal Marijuana Debate 





Lawsuit Reignites Medicinal Marijuana Debate 
Posted by FoM on December 18, 2001 at 12:49:20 PT
By Neely Tucker, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post
District advocates of the use of medical marijuana filed suit in U.S. District Court today to put the issue back on ballots next November, four years after an identical referendum set off a confrontation with Congress on home rule.Two advocacy groups are looking to the court for an injunction against a congressional amendment that effectively blocks the city from putting the issue before voters again, although 69 percent of D.C. residents supported the medical use of marijuana in a 1998 vote.
"This is a clear First Amendment, free-speech issue," said Alexei Silverman, a lawyer for the Marijuana Policy Project and the Medical Marijuana Initiative Committee, the two groups backing the lawsuit. "D.C. residents have the right to voice their opinion and their vision of what the laws in their city should be."Voters in 1998 made it clear that they wanted to join a handful of states – eight, so far – who have legalized the cultivation, possession, use and distribution of marijuana for patients of serious illnesses whose physician recommended it. Proponents of the law cite the drug's usefulness in alleviating pain associated with AIDS, multiple-sclerosis, cancer and other diseases.But the White House's national drug policy office, along with several medical associations, have said the evidence of those benefits is not conclusive enough to merit a change in the law. Many members of Congress have said such use sends a conflicting signal during the nation's "war on drugs."So when District residents voted on Initiative 59, congressional overseers immediately passed a law that banned the drug's use for medical purposes in the nation's capital, no matter what the ballot said. It took more than a year before a U.S. District court judge ruled that the ballots from the referendum could even be counted.U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) then sponsored a rider on the District's appropriation bill, renewed annually, that barred public funds from being used to put the issue on any ballot in the future. The city's Board of Elections and Ethics ruled last week that the amendment probited them from doing preliminary work on putting the amendment on next year's ballot.That step led to today's lawsuit."We're seeking a temporary restraining order that will at least allow us to collect the 16,000 signatures we need to qualify the issue for another referendum," said Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "To be on the November ballot, everything has to be in place by May."The results of Initiative 59 are still valid, the group acknowledged. But the advocates suggested that they believe those results were unlikely to be allowed into law by the Bush administration.Meanwhile, some patients of painful diseases say the drug's use is entirely medicinal, not a loophole around the law for recreational smokers."I have terrible pain in my nerves and joints, but I don't want to be arrested," said Candida Fraze, a District multiple sclerosis patient who is also a named plaintiff in the lawsuit. "I would like the opportunity to try marijuana to alleviate some of the symptoms I have. . . . [Congress' position] seems to be archaic and lacking in any sense of compassion."Complete Title: Lawsuit Reignites Medicinal Marijuana Debate in District Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: Neely Tucker, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, December 18, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Washington Post Company Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/U.S. House Votes To Overturn Init. 59http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3294.shtmlLegislation Introduced To Overturn D.C. Ballothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread3149.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on December 19, 2001 at 11:29:58 PT
what happened to "All the Presidents Men"?
I'm glad to see some coverage of the MPP lawsuit, but at the same time, it's disheartening. This article just focusses on a few legal technicalities and procedural stuff.Nowhere in the article is the point raised that, the population of DC voted overwhelming for this, and the govt ruthlessly oppressed them and negated their choice. To me, that's by far the biggest story here.Doesn't the media realize its responsibility? It's really the ONLY check against tyranny by our government. Who else keeps an eye on the government? Nobody. As Richard Cowan says, "Bad Journalism" is the 2-word explanation for the drug war, and he's right.What saddens me even more is that I believe this is a reflection of modern American culture. Right vs. Wrong is no longer important, only the amount of attention one can generate for oneself. i.e., Sensationalism. I distinctly remember watching the nightly news when I was a kid in the 70's, and I remember one time the cameraman accidentally zoomed in on some lady's face as she burst into tears over her husband's death. Afterward, the anchor spent about 15 seconds apologizing for the breach of media ethics. Nowadays, graphic grief and mourning are the ONLY thing you see on the nightly news, it's become de rigeur to profit off this stuff. And the government is all too willing to bend us over and exploit, it just keeps getting easier and easier to do so as our society becomes dumbed-down.
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Comment #2 posted by i420 on December 18, 2001 at 16:28:53 PT
Democracy is dead...
...when the voters have spoken and it takes a court order to uphold it.It is amazing that we can even breath without a court order allowing us to inhale.America ...land of the free???? It seems they oughta take the stars off the flag and put some swastika's in their place. We are as free as a dog on a leash. 
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on December 18, 2001 at 16:20:27 PT
Remove Them
Almost 7 out of 10 D.C. residents voted for medicinal marijuana. For the arrogant Bob Barr to stymie the will of the people is indicative of how the system has spun out of control. This is a democracy unless the power brokers disagree with the voters(ie. this is not a democracy).Why do we put up with these fascists? It is our duty to remove them. Bob Barr is a feeble-minded puppet & it amazes me how a nincompoop like him can get elected in the first place! 
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