cannabisnews.com: Key Medical Pot Case To Be Heard





Key Medical Pot Case To Be Heard
Posted by CN Staff on June 29, 2004 at 07:58:04 PT
By Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs Writer
Source: Sacramento Bee 
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider next term whether the federal government lacks the power to prosecute medical pot users and caregivers whose activities do not involve interstate commerce, the justices announced Monday.The decision, expected by early next year, could provide a blueprint for legal marijuana operations in the nine states that try to protect medical users from prosecution and nine more where efforts to enact protective laws are under way.
Or, if the federal government prevails, the decision could deliver a lethal blow to the medical marijuana movement that was fired eight years ago by the approval of legalization initiatives in California and Arizona. The high court accepted the case at the urging of the Bush administration."I am excited, nervous and also fearful to go before the Supreme Court because there's so much at stake here. I could actually lose my life," said Angel-Raich, one of two plaintiffs in the test case.Raich, of Oakland, uses marijuana for relief from an inoperable brain tumor and other ailments. She and Diane Monson of Oroville, who has a degenerative spine disease, initiated the legal showdown by asking a judge to enjoin federal interference with their pot supplies.Although the medical pot legalization movement has grown rapidly, especially in the Western states, its effectiveness has been curtailed by federal raids and arrests, especially in California. The U.S. drug law, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, makes no exception for medical use.Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/key.htmSource: Sacramento Bee (CA)Author:  Claire Cooper -- Bee Legal Affairs WriterPublished: Tuesday, June 29, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Sacramento BeeContact: opinion sacbee.comWebsite: http://www.sacbee.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich vs. Ashcroft http://www.angeljustice.org/Bryan Epis Protest Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/protestpics.htmAnalysis: Medical Marijuana Debate Renewshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19090.shtmlSupreme Court Will Hear Medical Marijuana Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19089.shtmlAppeals Court Reviews First Med Pot Convictionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19024.shtml
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