cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- November 24, 2004 NORML's Weekly News Bulletin -- November 24, 2004 Posted by CN Staff on November 24, 2004 at 23:15:26 PT Weekly Press Release Source: NORML Supreme Court To Hear Oral Arguments Monday On Whether Feds Can Prosecute Medical Marijuana PatientsNovember 24, 2004 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Monday to determine whether patients who use marijuana in compliance with state laws are constitutionally protected from federal arrest and prosecution. Respondents in the case, Angel Raich and Diane Monson of California, were granted injunctive relief from federal prosecution by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in December, when the court determined that the prosecution of patients who possess and cultivate marijuana for their own personal use in accordance with state law is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' Commerce Clause authority. "The intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking," the court found in a 2-1 decision. "Moreover, this limited use is clearly distinct from the broader illicit drug market ... insofar as the medicinal marijuana at issue in this case is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce. ... This conclusion, coupled with the public interest considerations and the burden faced by [Raich and Monson] if, contrary to California law, they are denied access to medicinal marijuana," warrants the court to find in favor of the appellants' request for injunctive relief. The US Justice Department is requesting the Supreme Court to overturn the Ninth Circuit's decision. NORML and the NORML Foundation filed a joint amicus curiae brief with the Supreme Court in October on behalf of Raich and Monson, stating: "This case is about the confluence of the state and individual rights: A state's capacity to legislate its public health policy, by choosing its own means and ends to achieve what it believes best serves the good of its people, when there is no superior or even competing federal interest; and, the right of personal medical choices of the chronically and terminally ill, made in consultation with their doctors. "If our Constitution means anything, it should mean that 'the war on drugs' cannot be made to be a war on the quality of life of the chronically or terminally ill. Sadly, ... the government believes in and promotes a constitutional regime that enables the federal government to enforce its policies which only serve to enhance patients' pain contrary to state law and in denigration of the principles embodied in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments and to elementary notions of federalism. This Court must reject any such view of the federal law and the Constitution that violates the rights of both citizens and the states to enact laws for their common good where there is no federal interest and where the federal government expressly disclaimed any interest in preemption under [federal law.]" NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said, "At its core, this case is about the right of seriously ill patients to use marijuana as a medicine to relieve their pain and suffering, without fear of arrest by the federal government, in those states that have legalized its use. The legal principle involved whether the federal government can use its powers under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution to override state law in this area will likely impact a wide range of issues in the future, unrelated to the use of medical marijuana. "Should the Supreme Court uphold the Ninth Circuit decision, patients in states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana will no longer live in fear of federal prosecution. Should the Supreme Court overturn the Ninth Circuit¹s ruling, the medical marijuana issue will still remain prominent in the political arena, to be ultimately decided by legislatures and by voter initiative." For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6347Cannabis Fight Enters U.S. High Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19864.shtmlOakland Woman Battles for Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19863.shtmlThe Fate of Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19862.shtml Canadians Using Pot In Record NumbersNovember 24, 2004 - Ottawa, ON, CanadaOttawa, Ontario: Use of marijuana among Canadians is at all time high levels, according to national survey data released today by the Canadian Centre for Substance Abuse (CCSA) in Ottawa. The Canadian Addiction Survey is the first major survey in a decade on the use of alcohol and drugs by Canadians.Self-reported use of cannabis rose dramatically in the past decade, the survey of 13,909 Canadians found. The percentage of Canadians who reported using marijuana in the past year was 14 percent, up from 7.4 percent in 1994. Among adults, lifetime use of the drug was 44.5 percent, while 70 percent of young people age 18 to 24 reported having used cannabis the highest percentage ever recorded.NORML Canada Executive Director Jody Pressman said that the dramatic rise in marijuana use coincides with an equally dramatic rise in the criminal enforcement of Canadian marijuana laws thus belying the notion that criminal sanctions deter marijuana use. "Criminal prosecution and enforcement has only led to increased consumption of marijuana," Pressman said. "Criminalizing use has ruined people's lives, cost hundreds of millions, and only served to fatten police budgets and the profit margin for organized crime. Instead of perpetuating the failed policies of the past, NORML Canada calls on government to regulate and tax marijuana like beer, wine, and spirits."For more information, please contact NORML Canada at (613) 270-0602 or visit: http://www.normlcanada.org/DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6348Marijuana Use Doubles: Studyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19876.shtmlSurvey Finds Pot Puffing Rate Doubled http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19874.shtmlSource: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: November 24, 2004Copyright: 2004 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/NORML's Weekly News Bulletin --Nov. 18, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19844.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin --Nov. 12, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19815.shtmlNORML's Weekly News Bulletin --Nov. 04, 2004http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19774.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #14 posted by FoM on November 26, 2004 at 15:16:08 PT NORML Canada I really like this new Canadian web site. Maybe it isn't new but it's new to me. I wish them the best of luck. Here's a video I posted on another thread.http://www.fillthehill.ca/cpac.htmlhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19883.shtml#16 [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on November 26, 2004 at 03:45:32 PT: I can answer that one, Ekim A DoS means Denial of Service. It's a hack in which the targeted server (like the ones at Cannabis Culture/Pot-TV) is hammered with so many requests for services (like streamed video) and is so busy trying to handle the requests, it has the machine equivalent of a nervous breakdown.They were back up yesterday evening. If this was indeed an attack, I imagine we'll be hearing a report about it soon. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by ekim on November 25, 2004 at 17:39:27 PT the best to every one hey JR what is a DoS i just clicked on to the link you gave and i got disconnected saying a internal error. i tried to get to CC on a earlier story i read but had a error come up on run time. i did like the story on Angel saying that she hopes that the judge will be helped by cannabis for his thyroid. http://www.leap.cc/events [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by mayan on November 25, 2004 at 13:38:06 PT FoM Saved it. Thanks! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 25, 2004 at 12:06:18 PT mayan Here's my page about global warming.Be The Rain: Save The Planet For Another Day: http://freedomtoexhale.com/betherain.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by mayan on November 25, 2004 at 12:02:28 PT Greedheads Don't Care Our planet is in deep trouble but the greedheads have no conscience and very little intelligence. We could live in harmony with our earth and it's peoples but we are on a path of war,hatred,oppression and pollution. Here's some more recent bad news regarding the arctic melting. Why won't we learn?Global warming severest in Arctic: four-year, eight-country scientific study: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/11/08/705853-cp.htmlStudy: Arctic warming at twice the global rate Species, including polar bears, may go extinct as ice melts: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/08/globalwarming.reut/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by mayan on November 25, 2004 at 11:44:23 PT FoM Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for Cannabis News!Now, back to hard reality...The oil and mining companies definitely like the fact that the arctic ice is melting at a very fast rate. They will be able to drill and mine in places never before possible and then transport resources in the ever opening shipping lanes. Like you said,lots of fresh water up there too. It will be getting mighty warm in much of the U.S. due to the current warming which is happening much faster than anyone ever anticipated. Our climate will be unsuitable for many of the crops we grow. Canada may soon have a "breadbasket" of it's own. Don't think the U.S. hasn't had it's eye on Canada for some time. I never imagined that my country would be the "evil empire". The scary thing is, the empire is just getting started. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 25, 2004 at 10:27:33 PT mayan First of all Happy Thanksgiving!Now to the serious stuff. I fear for Canada. They are going to become our 51st state at the rate it is going. We need their oil and water now too. It all makes so much sense to me what they are doing to Canada. Get them ready to be apart of us. It's very sad. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by mayan on November 25, 2004 at 10:14:08 PT Attention, Canucks! Canadians may want to read this...Is the Annexation of Canada part of Bush's Military Agenda? by Michel Chossudovsky: http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO411C.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on November 25, 2004 at 06:02:31 PT more cannabis needed more cannabis imbibers needed. Really, the only hope there is.The latest exercise in 'democracy' was a joke. We voted to have ourselves robbed even more. Minus 8.2 trillion dollars of government deficit is not good. We're the wealthiest nation on earth? We should be exporting peace, not war. We should be kindly helping our fellow man, not murdering him. It's insaneThe US gov is unofficially insane. War all around the planet to insure more of what? More money for the big boys and their toys, while the rest of us get the crumbs. Trickle down to nothing.But hey, all is not lost. It will be fun to watch the Republicans nihilistically implode and disintegrate. They've got the whole ball of wax, but I don't think they're able to handle it.Smoke more pot. Obtain some for the sick, too. They need it the most. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on November 25, 2004 at 05:52:12 PT: The anschuss is coming! The anschluss is coming! (To paraphrase Paul Revere.)http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=anschlussAn·schluss ( P ) Pronunciation Key (änshls) n. A political union, especially the one unifying Nazi Germany and Austria in 1938.And, for another lesson in vocabulary: quisling http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=quislingquis·ling ( P ) Pronunciation Key (kwzlng) n. A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country. [After Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945), head of Norway's government during the Nazi occupation (1940-1945).]How many Canuck Right wingers have quisling components in their blood? How many willing to submerge Canadian sovereignty into the morass of American corporatism? How many willing to prostrate their nation the way a rape victim is forced to be? I guess we're about to find out; Georgie has treated our best neighbors with callous dismissal. NOW he wants to 'make nice'? Only because he wants something. I smell a large and mangey rodent...But you know something else? If this really is a DoS attack, then Georgie's handlers are really, REALLY worried. They've irrevocably reached the point in the Gandhi Progression where they are past making fun of us, and are having cold sweats, having woken to the fact that the 'Net is the greatest weapon against fascism since the printing press. So, they've attacked, hard...against a gnat. Typical overreaction that will breed further, stonger, better organization and will cause fence sitters to finally choose sides. Hey, antis! This was about as stupid a move as you could make. Since many antis are secret admirers of Nietzsche, let me remind you of what he said: "That which does not kill me makes me stronger." You've just caused the breed to improve, antis. Bad, bad move. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on November 25, 2004 at 03:59:15 PT Massive DoS against Marc Emery and others The US Marijuana Party is reporting a major DoS against those planning the upcoming Bush protest in Canada: http://usmjparty.blogspot.com/2004/11/major-dos-attack-launched-on-marc.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on November 25, 2004 at 01:52:51 PT Vast Implications The legal principle involved whether the federal government can use its powers under the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution to override state law in this area will likely impact a wide range of issues in the future, unrelated to the use of medical marijuana.Keith Stroup said it very well. People across the entire political spectrum should be pulling for Angel Raich and Diane Monson. This decision will affect states' rights regarding many different issues. The Supreme Court will either pursue justice or they will be exposed as corporate puppets. Here's a relative piece...Upcoming Supreme Court case may shape medipot industry: http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2004/11/25/news/top_stories/03medipot.txt [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by lombar on November 25, 2004 at 00:28:41 PT A Judge on prohibition Every once in a while I see something that gives me a bit of hope."The federal government has said repeatedly over the past two decades that misuse of drugs is a health issue. It is past time that it acted accordingly, shelved its costly and useless policy of prohibition and created a rational structure to deal with all non-medical drug use, the one presently in use for alcohol: a system of regulated distribution. At a stroke, we would destroy the black market, remove a principal source of revenue for organized crime and terrorist groups, free up hundreds of millions of dollars now spent on enforcement and corrections, create a new source of government revenue - to be devoted to drug treatment and education - and greatly reduce the incidence of property crime."http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1670/a12.html?397 (Awesome oped!)Add to that: allow better access to med-pot patients, end (large and ubiquitous) illicit grow ops, greatly reduce theft of hydro, grow rips... win-win-win. Only vested interests insist on maintaining prohibition. I hope the US Supreme court votes/rules for reducing suffering and stops the persecution of the ill for seeking relief. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment