cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Advocates Suffer Court Setbacks





Medical Pot Advocates Suffer Court Setbacks
Posted by CN Staff on May 11, 2007 at 07:26:19 PT
By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco, CA -- A medical marijuana patient whose challenge to federal drug laws reached the U.S. Supreme Court dropped her long-running legal case Thursday, while in another case a noted pot advocate lost an attempt to introduce evidence about the medicinal value of cannabis at his retrial on cultivation charges. The separate developments represented victories for federal prosecutors who have sought to override California's 1996 medical marijuana initiative in federal court.
Although the law, which allows patients to use the drug with their doctor's recommendation, remains in effect, patients and suppliers can be prosecuted under federal law that recognizes no legitimate use for marijuana. Angel Raich of Oakland, who uses marijuana every two hours to combat the pain of scoliosis, endometriosis, a brain tumor and a wasting syndrome, dropped her lawsuit Thursday that sought to prohibit federal prosecution of gravely ill medical marijuana patients. Two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in her case that federal narcotics laws could be applied to users and suppliers of locally grown marijuana. The justices said Congress' power to regulate interstate commerce includes drugs that are commonly trafficked across state lines. Other issues in the case were returned to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which in March rejected Raich's claim that a federal prosecution would violate her constitutional right to preserve her life and be free of severe pain. The court said, however, that if Raich is ever prosecuted, she can defend herself by showing that she needs marijuana to prevent death or intolerable pain, and that legal drugs are ineffective. "I've lost all faith in the judicial system,'' Raich, 41, said in a statement announcing her decision not to appeal the latest ruling.  Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/2n5v9mSource: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Friday, May 11, 2007Copyright: 2007 Hearst Communications Inc.Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles: Ganja Guru's Retrial Set for Next Weekhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22963.shtml Angel Raich Drops Medical Pot Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22961.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by user123 on May 12, 2007 at 10:57:39 PT:
The Other 50%
I guess when you're part of the machine that wastes 1 Billion a week in Iraq, re-trying this case amounts to peanuts spent.
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Comment #3 posted by museman on May 11, 2007 at 10:23:21 PT
and the problem is..
"I've lost all faith in the judicial system,'' With all due respect and good wishes to Angel, I must point out the obvbious. The 'judicial system' is not a living entity, it certainly is nowhere near to God, so the first mistake that so many make is to place their faith in dead and useless things. The systems of government which extend into all levels and strata of human life, are not something to believe in folks.Possibility and potential for a sane reality exists within all of us, yet as a group we give our power away to fools. There is a REAL essence and substance with which to be empowered by faith and belief, and those upholders of the status quo are not it.I respect and recognize the idea and concept of 'fighting the good fight' but when the game is totally Roman, expect the Lions. As far as I know no one ever walked out of the killing ground in the Coliseum after they met the lions.Faith and belief are powerful if invested in real Spirituality, but it is a waste if given to a bunch of human pretenders sitting on their made up thrones.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on May 11, 2007 at 08:10:44 PT
The Federal Government
They have been thoroughly exposed as murderers. It's only a matter of time until the karma cops conduct a no-knock raid on them.
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Comment #1 posted by mai_bong_city on May 11, 2007 at 07:31:31 PT
i just wanna' say..
i knew it was coming, but still, it's sad...i'm grateful for everything angel's done for all of us, and wish her all the best in her fight for wellness.
we will overcome. someday.
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