cannabisnews.com: High on Justice High on Justice Posted by CN Staff on June 16, 2005 at 17:01:15 PT By R. V. Scheide Source: North Bay Bohemian California -- Chalk up yet another positive effect for medical marijuana: The substance seems to make those who use it feel eternally optimistic. How else to explain the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court's June 6 ruling against medical marijuana? "It's the best defeat we could have gotten," says Steph Sherer, a medical marijuana patient who is also the founder and executive director of Americans for Safety Access (ASA), the Oakland-based national grassroots organization that advocates for the rights of patients and doctors to use medical cannabis. Although the justices voted 6 to 3 that the Controlled Substances Act permits federal law-enforcement officials to prosecute medical marijuana users in the 10 states where voters have passed initiatives allowing its use, including California, Sherer and other advocates have found plenty of things to feel high about within the language of the court's decision. "According to the Supreme Court decision, the federal government can prosecute medical marijuana patients--it does not say they must prosecute patients," she says. "The Drug Enforcement Agency busting California's sick and dying would be like one of our local police departments pulling all their women and men off their assigned duties and making them all focus on jaywalkers." That of course hasn't happened--yet. It didn't hurt that the state's chief law-enforcement official, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, wasted no time assuring medical marijuana patients that they would not be persecuted. "Today's ruling does not overturn California law permitting the use of medical marijuana," Lockyer said in a written statement released shortly after the Supreme Court's decision. "It does uphold a federal regulatory scheme that contradicts the will of the California voters and limits the rights of states to provide appropriate medical care to its citizens." Nevertheless, some local medical marijuana users took the news of the Supreme Court's ruling pretty hard. "I've had people calling me all day asking if everything has been banned," explains Jose Gutierrez, ASA's representative in Sonoma County, where a ban on new cannabis clubs is in effect. "I'm really seeing the effects of the media. We've been inundated with so much fear lately, and this has really freaked [patients] out. They feel like they may be on a list because they signed up for medical marijuana, and they might get arrested if a dispensary gets raided." To help counter that fear, Gutierrez organized a candlelight vigil in downtown Santa Rosa last week; about 40 medical marijuana users and their supporters showed up, along with a four-foot-tall marijuana plant belonging to the potent strain known as "Sonoma Coma." "I am not a damned criminal!" cried a patient named Cecelia. "If they want to call me a criminal, they're liars. They know it, and God knows it." Said Stacey of her wheelchair-bound son Forest, "Medical marijuana has kept him alive." The vigil's ending was punctuated by the pungent odor of high-grade skunk-bud as patients toked up before returning home. Like Stacey, Mary Pat Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana, credits medical marijuana for keeping a loved one alive. Her husband, Monte, suffers from a rare condition called radiation necrosis that's like a sunburn that goes clean through to the bone. She believes marijuana's scientifically documented abilities to stimulate the appetite and relieve pain has prolonged her husband's life, and while she's not a patient herself, she has the same eternal optimism regarding the recent Supreme Court decision displayed by most medical marijuana advocates. "For all practical purposes, [the court decision] doesn't change what's been happening," she says. "If the federal government comes after patients like Monte, it's not going to look good. I think this Supreme Court decision is going to make a lot of people angry. I think it's going to give us a boost. It doesn't change the situation in California. We've always been worried about the federal government coming in." The Jacobs are friends with Angel Raich, the respondent in the Supreme Court case, who like Monte credits medical marijuana for prolonging her life. Raich suffers from an inoperable brain tumor along with wasting syndrome, and successfully sued the federal government for the right to use medical marijuana under California law until the Supreme Court reversed the decision. "Angel is a good friend of ours," Jacobs says. "Monte was really impressed with her when they first met. She can vaporize as much as he can." "Vaporization" is a process for heating and consuming marijuana that does not burn the weed and is therefore easier on the lungs. Monte eats and vaporizes 13 grams of medical marijuana per day, which amounts to 10.5 pounds per year, an amount that exceeds the Sonoma County guidelines of three pounds per year but is permitted with a special exemption approved by his physician. Jacobs doesn't think the Supreme Court decision was entirely positive. Although she and her husband grow their own medical marijuana, many patients cannot and so depend on the cannabis clubs, which have recently come under increasing scrutiny in Sonoma County. "We fear the dispensaries are going to be at continued risk from the federal government," Jacobs says. "The dispensaries have surfaced, in our opinion, because neither the state nor the federal government has stepped forward with a safe and affordable supply. A ban on clubs and dispensaries would push it all back underground. Prohibition just makes it more unsafe for patients. It's just amazing that a country that tolerates tobacco and alcohol can't tolerate a substance like cannabis." Americans for Safety Access' Steph Sherer agrees that there are negative aspects about the court's decision. "The downside is that there are a dozen people out there who were waiting for the results of this case and may have to go prison now," she says. That includes Chico medical marijuana dispensary operator Brian Epis, whose 10-year prison sentence on federal conspiracy charges to cultivate marijuana was overturned in part because Raich won in the 9th District Court of Appeals. Now that her victory has been overturned, Epis and others in similar situations could be facing prison once more. Yet for the most part, Sherer remains optimistic, particularly since the justices suggested that Congress should consider rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act, first established in 1972 by the Nixon administration. As it so happens, Sherer and the ASA have been working hard on doing just that, and may be on the verge of success. The Controlled Substances Act ranks drugs in five separate schedules; marijuana is placed in schedule one, among the hardest drugs such as heroin. To classify for schedule one, a substance can have no known or accepted medical use--for example, cocaine and morphine, arguably much harder than marijuana, are classified as schedule two, because they have medical uses. Who decides if a substance has a medical use? Ultimately, it's the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which for decades has ignored the growing scientific evidence of medical marijuana's efficacy, the ASA claims. To rectify that situation, ASA filed a petition with the HHS last October to reschedule marijuana. As part of the process, ASA has demanded that the agency abide by the Data Quality Act, federal law that requires such agencies to make decisions based on science, not politics. In a brief filed in the case, the ASA states that "HHS's statements about marijuana as medicine violate the date quality act's utility and objective standards because those statements do not reveal the data on which they are based, ignore opposing peer-reviewed scientific studies and have been contradicted by new data." If the agency is in fact in violation of the Data Quality Act, and HHS is forced to concede that marijuana does indeed have legitimate medical uses, it would by definition have to be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act. A decision on the Data Quality Act portion of the ASA's petition is due from HHS later this summer. Health and Human Services must reply to ASA's petition for rescheduling marijuana by the end of the year. Is it possible that HHS, run by the science-averse Bush administration, might do the right thing and reschedule marijuana, thus ending the national debate on the issue? "They have an opportunity to take the politics out of this issue and look at the merits of the case," says the eternally optimistic Sherer. "Maybe I'm just naïve--to a certain degree, you have to be to be an activist--but I believe there's always the possibility that they'll do their job, which is to take the politics out of medicine." Note: Medical marijuana advocates feel good about Supreme Court decision. Source: North Bay Bohemian, The (CA)Author: R. V. Scheide Published: June 15-21, 2005 Copyright: 2005 Metro Publishing Inc.Contact: editor bohemian.comWebsite: http://www.bohemian.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:SAMMhttp://www.samm.net/Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Marijuana Fight is Hypocriticalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20868.shtmlFallout of Marijuana Verdicthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20800.shtmlMedical Marijuana Effort Loses at US High Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20772.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #40 posted by jose melendez on June 18, 2005 at 11:22:23 PT Justice. Right. File this under 'we told you so' . . .CATO Institute: Drug war IS crime!http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n978/a06.html?397 Being tough on crime requires making intelligent distinctions between conduct that truly threatens the public and conduct better handled by fines or civil law, to say nothing of conduct that's really none of the government's business. Those who can't make those distinctions, far from being tough on crime, actually weaken the moral force of the criminal law. That's a crime in itself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #39 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 19:57:17 PT Off Topic: For Entertainment Purposes Only If you like Neil Young, Rust Radio is having a Father & Son weekend. This is perfect for the Fathers Day Weekend since Neil just lost his Father this past week. Enjoy!http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/rust/message/129365 [ Post Comment ] Comment #38 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 18:11:03 PT Mayan Thank you. I'll check it out. [ Post Comment ] Comment #37 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 17, 2005 at 17:50:39 PT Reaction The second paragraph shows how the Republicans reacted to the memo. I'd imagine these are the same types who voted down med. marijuana for sick people. If Americans let them get a away with it, they're just sheep, awaiting the next scam.• Bush pressed to answer `Downing Street Memo' questions, Knight Ridder, June 16, 2005"Thursday's hearing on the memo was organized by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.It was held in a cramped Capitol basement room and was attended by about 20 House Democrats and some anti-war activists. Republicans, who control Congress, refused to hold an official hearing or to participate, so Conyers termed it a "forum." [. . .] [ Post Comment ] Comment #36 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 17, 2005 at 17:29:47 PT Some more.... Click The Memo, mostly look at the areas shaded in red.Lets hope all those sleep walkers out there wake up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #35 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 17, 2005 at 17:26:33 PT DSM http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by mayan on June 17, 2005 at 17:13:14 PT FoM I haven't found an actual transcript yet but I will look. Bradblog.com is covering it as good as anyone. Below is the link. Scroll down to "The Congressman Makes a House Call". It shows pictures of Conyers and others from the hearing delivering stacks and stacks of signatures to the White House!http://www.bradblog.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by mayan on June 17, 2005 at 17:04:10 PT DSM C-SPAN is showing the DSM Hearing again for those who missed it. I think it just started at 7:00 PM - CST. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 12:32:43 PT A Question I knew our issues news would slow up and I was wondering since I don't get out and about on blogs what is the best one for the DSM so I can read it. Thanks in advance! [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on June 17, 2005 at 11:04:27 PT Don't forget to vote Vote on several issues concerning DSM. This is the same link FoM posted in comment 25. The results of the poll are amazing. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6862172/GM and Ford can't even afford America's health insurance anymore---------Wow, what a great job the federal government has done with health insurance. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 10:41:05 PT CKNW Report on Renee Boje Listen:CKNW Report on Renee Bojehttp://www.timmeehan.ca/boje/CKNW.mp3 [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 10:38:48 PT CKNW Reports Renee is Free! Next hearing September 30th! [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 10:20:56 PT Thanks Sam I always have love the northeast. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20876.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by Sam Adams on June 17, 2005 at 10:03:32 PT Boston headline funny:http://news.bostonherald.com/galleries/?title=PrintEditionNews [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by Sam Adams on June 17, 2005 at 10:02:06 PT San Francisco San Francisco looks like dump? Strange, is that the same place with the highest real estate values in the US right now? People paying millions to live in a 2-bedroom condo? SF is the jewel of the US, it's our nicest city by far. It's precisly because of the liberal mentality of the government that smart, interesting, open-minded people want to move there. SF and the Bay Area have been driving the nation's high-tech economy for the last 20 years. SF also voted to completely de-prioritize marijuana laws in a binding, citywide referendum. The government is doing exactly what's it's supposed to do in a democracy - represent the people.Hmmm, let's see, how are property values in far-right strongholds? Houston? Indianapolis? Atlanta? St. Louis? What are those cities like? In fact, they're hollowed-out ghettos, no one wants to even live there, everyone's in the suburbs. If this guy's lived in SF for a long time, he's taking it for granted, he had no idea what most of the cities in the US are like. Dead zones, basically. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 09:12:01 PT MSNBC Poll on DSM http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6862172/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 09:01:09 PT Heads Up: On MSNBC's Connected They are talking about the DSM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 17, 2005 at 08:45:35 PT major media distractions I personally don't watch TV.I believe the media is distracting it's viewers from important issues. While maybe in the back offices of govt. and business, their real agendas are being hatched and implemented. That's while their viewers have their minds on BS.Mostly, it's the job of the media to dumbify it's viewers to buy crap they don't need, and express propaganda for the leading powers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 08:41:09 PT Max Flowers I know what you mean. I appreciate tv news when a major event happens and we need cameras there to bring it to us but when nothing big is happening they go back to news that seems to dumb down the public. Isn't that propaganda in a way too? Spin stories so real news is never heard. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by Max Flowers on June 17, 2005 at 08:35:41 PT I agree 200% FoM I am beyond disgusted with what the major media does and what its "priorities" are. Every day and every hour, hugely important stories are ignored in favor of entertainment drivel or stories that are important to a few people (a victim's family for example) while critical issues that need to get out to millions go unreported.I feel bad for the parents and family of the missing girl in Aruba, but the rest of the country does NOT need 24/7 coverage about her (which is nothing but punditry and speculation anyway!) while so many injustices and deadly serious civil issues go untouched. It's reprehensible and I think that the producers of all major TV news shows should be brought to some kind of sense, even if it means sanctions, legal action or something bad for them. Don't they have any legal obligation to spend their time on things that really matter to people's lives?? [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 08:24:22 PT Another Comment I was hoping when Michael Jackson's trial was over the tv news would start reporting news of value but naturally they are on to another pretty, white girl that is missing in a foreign country. What about all the minority women that go missing and no one even says one thing on the news. News is just to fill the time so the channels keep going and I am so happy we have the Internet to get the news that really matters. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 08:11:02 PT MikeEEEEE I know that watching C-Span last night and seeing all those Democrats standing up for justice gave me hope that there is hope for that Party and maybe our country. I am not any political party but I feel my thinking is closest to being a Democrat. If they follow up and don't chicken out and keep pushing I probably will actually register as a Democrat. That's saying a lot for me since I shun politics as much as I can. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 17, 2005 at 07:49:41 PT Injustice In the fall of 2002 GW Bush ordered 10,000 body bags for the impending war, this is while he was still spinning the UN route.There are a lot of witnesses and I'm sure more evidence will surface.If these guys get away with it who knows what they'll dream up next; and the US will continue to sink even lower into these types of injustices. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 07:44:41 PT SFC: Why S.F. Really Has Gone To Pot By Ken GarciaFriday, June 17, 2005 San Francisco has more pot clubs than any city in the nation and essentially no rules to regulate them. So it's no surprise that renegade cannabis clubs are popping up like mushrooms all over the city. When a town decides to go into the pot-club- licensing business, you don't have to ask what its officials are smoking. I'm all for the use of medical marijuana and believe Congress missed a good opportunity to show it understood the basic concept of states' rights this week when it defeated an amendment to stop the Department of Justice from prosecuting sick people who purchase the drug in states like California, where medical pot is legal. And, frankly, I don't care if adults want to make like Hunter S. Thompson in his pill-popping heyday, as long as their puffing fervor doesn't endanger the lives of others. But San Francisco's ongoing experiment with pot clubs underscores one of the city's lingering problems, one that negatively affects the overall quality of life and makes it appear that Cheech-and-Chong movies are models for public policy. The town's uber-lefty politics have created a dynamic of such permissiveness that basic standards and oversight don't exist, or are lightly regarded or ignored altogether. The city placed a moratorium on the dozens of pot clubs operating a few months back, recognizing that they were popping up in neighborhoods overnight, in part because the liberal bastion of Oakland decided to crack down on them. And unlike almost any other kind of business, the clubs are being allowed to operate without a permit. Perhaps with an unintended pun, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi said that city officials need "to catch our breath'' in dealing with the proliferation. But rather than clamping down on clubs, the Board of Supervisors' action has just encouraged more clubs to open, because there's money to be made in those magic buds. And as anyone who walks by one of the pot clubs knows, the customers are not just sick people -- not that the city attorney or any other enforcement agency seems to care. It pays to remember that, just a few years ago, supervisors discovered the city had no law barring someone from urinating or defecating in public. In fact, a lot of people exploited the loophole as a cherished civil liberty, much to the chagrin of disgusted tourists and residents. When then-Supervisor Tony Hall tried to introduce a measure regulating the use of public bathrooms, some "progressives" like Supervisor Chris Daly protested, saying that laws on illegal drug activity and prostitution didn't belong on the books because "it's not the San Francisco way to go.'' Such twisted logic comes in handy today when surveying the city's streets, which, in too many areas, have the grimy feel of a third-world country. Equating lawlessness with civil liberty has been a hallmark of the left- leaning San Francisco for decades, as has the constant disconnect between the city's weak policies and their effect. "It's like everyone is concerned with infringing someone's rights,'' said longtime city resident Dennis Cruz. "Meanwhile, the place looks like a dump.'' Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/17/EDGO3D9DEH1.DTL [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by siege on June 17, 2005 at 07:21:16 PT misconduct Let all of us people here write Montel William Show to have a show on this: urged lawmakers and Republicans and the administration to conduct an official inquiry to determine whether the president intentionally misled Congress. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by MikeEEEEE on June 16, 2005 at 22:57:44 PT mayan Misleading Congress is an impeachable offense.http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050617/ap_on_go_co/downing_street_memo [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 19:47:06 PT Here's The Final Vote On The Amendment I was checkng out this link as they were speaking just now on C-Span to see how they voted and they all voted for us. Seeing Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich together now on C-Span looks really good to me.http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll255.xml [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 19:34:59 PT Thompson votes for medical marijuana amendment http://www.times-standard.com/Stories/0,1413,127~2896~2923839,00.htmlExcerpt: "Thompson said he was disappointed and that the matter is not over." [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 19:34:55 PT Max Flowers I really mind watching political programs but this is so good and gives me hope that right can win now and then. I guess the Democrats are pretty good after all.God Bless Them All! [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Max Flowers on June 16, 2005 at 19:31:21 PT IMPEACH the war criminals! That's what I say. Let's pray for a surge of extraordinary justice to well up like a massive system of energy and build and build, strong enough to keep momentum long enough to come to fruition in impeachment at the very least, and in our wildest dreams, convictions for treason. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on June 16, 2005 at 19:27:05 PT SoberStoner Yes you certainly can have a caregiver grow for you as a CA patient! Lots of people do it.And regarding jackboots, there are a lot of us in Northern CA who basically don't regard jackboots with any real thought, because we know what we're doing is right and we don't fear those boots. That's how it feels when you *know* you're in the right... you really don't stop to entertain fear. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on June 16, 2005 at 19:25:14 PT I Hope They Boot Bush and Cheney Soon I hope we don't get stuck with Cheney as presid. Haliburton would get much richer then. Boot to both and the sooner the better !!! I would bet there would be no shortage of Americans that would go to the White House and help them pack. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by ekim on June 16, 2005 at 18:51:52 PT BG ck out mayans posted site Comment #1 posted by mayan on June 16, 2005 at 18:03:14 PT unrelated Sorry, but this could unseat Bush. The DSM Hearing is being re-aired on C-SPAN 2 right now. Very damning... Historic 'Downing Street' Hearings Adjourn! Extraordinary Testimony Given... http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001471.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 18:42:28 PT BGreen and Mayan It is really mind blowing. Yes Mayan your statement is right! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by BGreen on June 16, 2005 at 18:39:02 PT I don't get C-SPAN 2 I'm getting chills just reading your posts, though, and I hope this is the beginning of the end of the gop and the war criminals who are raping this country.bush is a war criminal!The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by mayan on June 16, 2005 at 18:35:18 PT Balls Excuse my French, but the Democrats have finally found some balls! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 18:27:32 PT mayan As I'm watching C-Span it is hard for me to believe what I'm hearing. I've been so busy with our issue that I really wasn't sure what it was all about. It is giving me a sense of not being alone in how I feel seeing them speak out about what I believe personally is the truth. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 18:09:18 PT mayan We have it on. Thanks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by SoberStoner on June 16, 2005 at 18:06:53 PT Question about california law Can you assign a caregiver to grow for you if you are a MMJ patient?Just curious as I never followed any news on cali law. The clubs are looking down the barrel of a very large and expensive gun, but while clubs are vulnerable, individuals are a lot harder to go after. There has to be a way to keep the jackboots out of these states. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on June 16, 2005 at 18:03:14 PT unrelated Sorry, but this could unseat Bush. The DSM Hearing is being re-aired on C-SPAN 2 right now. Very damning...Historic 'Downing Street' Hearings Adjourn! Extraordinary Testimony Given... http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001471.htm [ Post Comment ] Post Comment