cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- March 13, 2003





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- March 13, 2003
Posted by CN Staff on March 13, 2003 at 16:12:01 PT
Press Release
Source: NORML
Vermont Senate Backs Legalizing Medical Marijuana Montpelier, VT: Senators overwhelmingly backed legislation today to exempt seriously ill patients who use medical marijuana under a physician's supervision from criminal prosecution. The Senate voted 22 to 7 in favor of the bill, according to the Senate Clerk's office.
Senate Bill 76, sponsored by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, would establish a state registry so that qualified patients could obtain an identification card allowing them to possess limited amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Eight states have enacted similar laws, and medical marijuana legislation is pending in more than half a dozen states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and Rhode Island.Similar legislation passed the Vermont House last year but stalled in the Senate.In January, a Vermont legislative council determined that marijuana had medical value and had been misclassified by the federal government as a Schedule I prohibited substance.For more information, please contact either Keith Stroup or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500. For detailed information on these bills, or to send letters in support of any of the above legislation, please visit: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/March 13, 2003 - San Francisco, CA, USADL: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5576Senate Gives Final Approval To Med. Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15719.shtmlMedical Pot Bill Advances in Senatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15711.shtmlSenate To Vote on Legalizing Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15710.shtmlCommittee Backs Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15408.shtml Court Denies Injunction From Federal Prosecution For State Approved Medicinal Marijuana PatientsMarch 13, 2003 - San Francisco, CA, USASan Francisco, CA: The federal government may prosecute state-approved medical marijuana patients despite their valid need for the drug, US District Judge Martin J. Jenkins ruled this week in San Francisco. The federal judge's ruling rejected plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the US Justice Department from sanctioning them for cultivating and using marijuana medically.Plaintiffs in the case, both of whom suffer from a number of severe medical conditions that are alleviated by cannabis, argued that federal officials violate the Fifth, Ninth and Tenth amendments and exceed their authority under the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution by federally prosecuting medical marijuana users in California.In his ruling, Judge Jenkins expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs, but said that federal law and "the weight of precedent" requires him to rule against them. "Despite the gravity of plaintiffs' need for medical cannabis, and despite the concrete interest of California to provide it for individuals like them, the Court is constrained from granting their request," Martin wrote. "While plaintiffs may vehemently disagree with the wisdom of the federal government's determination that marijuana has no medical efficacy and therefore, that federal law renders it unavailable for prescription to patients, they do not have a fundamental right to obtain and use it for treatment. ... The fact that, in this Court's view, the equitable factors tip in plaintiffs' favor does not alter the Court's conclusion."Judge Martin also determined that plaintiffs could not successfully mount a medical necessity defense despite their seriously ill health. Martin based his ruling on federal law barring the medical use of the drug and a 2001 US Supreme Court decision prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries from raising the defense in federal court as a way to avoid prosecution for manufacturing and/or distributing marijuana to seriously ill patients. "Plaintiffs vigorously contest Congress' finding that marijuana has no medical application, and the evidence in their declarations is powerful testimony to support their position," Martin opined. "Nonetheless, ... the Court must ... follow the dictate of the Supreme Court in its finding that there is no medical necessity defense for any of the prohibitions contained in the CSA (Controlled Substances Act), including even possession for medicinal use."NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup called the federal ruling disappointing. "Judge Jenkins clearly understood the seriousness of the plaintiffs' conditions and the vital role marijuana plays in relieving their symptoms, yet he lacked the courage to overrule existing precedent that denies them the relief to which they are entitled," he said. Stroup added that he hoped the Ninth Circuit would overrule Judge Jenkins' decision on appeal, but said, "Ultimately, the solution may lie with Congress, not the courts."Plaintiffs in the case filed suit last fall in response to a wave of federal prosecutions against California medical marijuana patients and caregivers. In the past year and a half, federal drug enforcement officials have taken action against approximately 40 medicinal marijuana patients, cooperatives and providers in the state.For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-8751 or NORML Legal Committee member David Michael, attorney for the plaintiffs, at (415) 621-4500.DL: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5575Medical Pot Users Lose in U.S. Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15694.shtmlU.S. Judge Rules Against Medical Pot Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15690.shtmlJudge Says Woman Not Immune from Prosecution http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15688.shtmlBook Your Room For The 2003 National NORML Conference Today!March 13, 2003 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Rooms are going fast for this year's 2003 NORML Conference in San Francisco, which will be held from April 17-19, 2003 atthe Hyatt Regency Hotel. NORML's initial room-block at the hotel is now sold out, but the Hyatt Regency will continue to be offering attendees rooms at the special discounted rate until the hotel is full. Please book your room now before they completely sell out.This year's conference, entitled "Back to Basics: Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers," will also feature a special fourth day on Sunday, April 20, that will feature workshops on campus/activist training techniques.Featured speakers at this year's conference include former NFL star and Texas NORML President Mark Stepnoski; actor and director Dan Stern; ACLU President Nadine Strossen; syndicated columnist and best-selling author Dan Savage, travel writer and television host Rick Steves; and documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, among others.Conference agenda, speakers list, and registration information is available online at: http://www.norml.org or call Kris Krane at (202) 483-5500 for more information.DL: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5577Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: March 13, 2003Copyright: 2003 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- March 6, 2003http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15661.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb 27, 2003 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15597.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- Feb. 20, 2003http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15519.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by Virgil on March 13, 2003 at 19:14:50 PT
The author chose the wrong tense in his verb
...determined that marijuana had medical value and had been misclassified by the federal government as a Schedule I prohibited substance.Sure cannabis was misclassified. Yesterday is shot all to hell. The problem is they know better and they still keep it in Schedule 1. The maliciousness of the classificition is one thing but the lying discredits every, and I mean every, thing the government does. The Schedule One Lie is not a clue, it is a flashing red sign 3000 miles long and 1700 miles wide with the biggest letters reserved for the word, CorruptionDoesn't the author know what the importance of using the word, is, is? The problem is that cannabis is a Schedule 1 substance and not one Congressman is Paul Revereing even one little "They are lying."
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on March 13, 2003 at 18:00:14 PT:
Grassroots: Critical Mass, Here We Come.
In January, a Vermont legislative council determined that marijuana had medical value and had been misclassified by the federal government as a Schedule I prohibited substance.Senate Bill 76, sponsored by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, would establish a state registry so that qualified patients could obtain an identification card allowing them to possess limited amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Eight states have enacted similar laws, and medical marijuana legislation is pending in more than half a dozen states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, and Rhode Island.
More and more "smoke and mirrors," more and more states getting "conned," according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, or is it a grassroots movement toward the truth about a long-maligned medical plant. ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question.
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