cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Activist Revives Legal Challenge Medical Marijuana Activist Revives Legal Challenge Posted by CN Staff on November 23, 2005 at 17:54:02 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press San Francisco -- A 40-year-old Oakland woman who lost her medical marijuana case before the U.S. Supreme Court in June asked a lower federal court Wednesday to revive her request to be able to use marijuana without threat or fear of prosecution.Angel Raich, 40, smokes marijuana every few hours to ease pain from a host of ailments that includes scoliosis, a brain tumor and chronic nausea. Two years ago, she sued the government, arguing that federal drug laws making marijuana illegal did not apply in California and nine other states that have adopted medical marijuana laws. The Supreme Court, ruling 6-3, concluded that state laws don't make medical marijuana patients immune from the federal ban on the drug.In a renewed bid to be able to smoke pot without facing possible arrest, Raich's lawyers asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to side with her but advanced a legal theory different from the one used in the earlier case.The renewed challenge argues that Raich has the constitutionally guaranteed right to use marijuana because it is the only medication that allows her to avoid intolerable pain and death. She claims that her personal liberty outweighs federal laws outlawing marijuana.Her doctor has told the Supreme Court that marijuana was the only drug available keeping Raich alive.No hearing has been set.The case is Raich v. Gonzales, 03-1454. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: November 23, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Angel Raich v. Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmMedical Marijuana Effort Loses at US High Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20772.shtmlGovernment Can Bar Medical Marijuana Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20771.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #17 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 20:59:53 PT Update on Cindy Sheehan I hope people will be video taping and use Google Video so we all can see what the news on tv doesn't tell us or show us.***Sheehan Back in Texas for War Protest***Thursday, November 24, 2005CRAWFORD, Texas -- The fallen soldier's mother whose August vigil near President Bush's ranch reinvigorated the anti-war movement returned to Texas to resume her protest Thursday as the president celebrated Thanksgiving a few miles away."I feel happy to be back here with all my friends ... but I'm heartbroken that we have to be here again," Cindy Sheehan said as she arrived at an airport in nearby Waco. "We will keep pressing and we won't give up until our troops are brought home."Complete Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/24/AR2005112401162.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 20:27:32 PT Hope I haven't see much on any protests but we are watching a movie instead of news tonight. It's an old movie with Tom Hanks called The Money Pit. It's a funny movie. We had a good day and I feel poofy! I remembered to take out the giblets and I didn't drop the turkey either. That makes it a very good Thanksgiving. LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Hope on November 24, 2005 at 20:05:22 PT Cindy's sister was arrested yesterday or the day before at Crawford. I was sad she was arrested but I was glad to see that some of Cindy's family is standing with her.My middle size jeans are too tight now! Back to the big britches tomorrow, looks like. It's been a good day though. A day to be thankful for. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 19:26:55 PT Mayan and Anyone Interested I started wondering if there were anti war videos of any of the protests and I found this one. Hopefully we will see more videos on Google from Events. That would be great.***2000 Deaths -- Cindy Sheehan arrested in protest at the White House 10 min 28 sec - Nov 2, 2005http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8721492645366916845&q=Cindy+Sheehan [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by ekim on November 24, 2005 at 18:20:12 PT Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side happy day everyone sending out Carlos from the Swing of Delight -----Song for my Brother 6.56 Nov 30 05 710AM KIRO 07:00 PM Norm Stamper Seattle Washington USA Closing out the very successful month of November, Speaker and former Seattle, WA, Chief of Police Norm Stamper is a guest on radio station KIRO 710AM, Seattle, WA. Norm will be discussing a myriad of issues facing the world related to the failure of drug prohibition. Issues such as police and government corruption, imprisonment of non-violent drug users, families broken up by incarceration and numerous other issues. Norm will also be discussing his highly acclaimed new book "Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing". For more information on Norm's book, visit www.normstamper.com December 2005 Dec 1 05 Exit Strategy for the War on Drugs: Toward a New Legal Framework 12:00 AM Jack Cole Seattle Washington USA King County Bar Association's Drug Policy Project presents a 2-day seminar at the Red Lion Hotel, 5th Avenue, Seattle, Washington December 1-2, 2005. LEAP board members Jack Cole & Eric Sterling, along with many other drug policy experts will be discussing an "Exit Strategy for the War on Drugs." Jack will be co-facilitator of a breakout session "Proper Roll of Law Enforcement in Drug Policy." To register for the seminar contact iselag kcba.org or (206) 267-7001. Dec 2 05 Chemistry of Drugs 12:30 PM James Anthony San Francisco California USA The Chemistry of Drugs Class of Claire Castro, Associate Professor at the University of San Francisco, welcomes one of LEAP's newest speakers, James Anthony, to discuss the societal impacts of America's failed drug policies as they relate to drugs of abuse. The topics may range from the racial bias of our legal system to the failure of a "compassionate" country to help those in need to the over crowding of America's prison system with non-violent drug users. Location: Harney Science Center, University of San Francisco. Room to be announced. Dec 5 05 KCUR Radio "Walt Bodine Show" 10:00 AM Brian Leininger Kansas City Missouri USA Former Prosecuting Attorney Brian Leininger is a guest on the "Walt Bodine Show" on KCUR Radio 89.3 FM, Kansas City, Missouri. Walt Bodine, a news reporter icon of the Kansas City area, will be talking to Brian about LEAP, his experiences in the drug war as a prosecuting attorney and a variety of issues related to the failures of America's drug prohibition policies. Dec 8 05 Kit Carson Sertoma 06:00 PM Michelle Holton Colorado Springs Colorado USA Speaker Michelle Holton is a welcomed guest at the Kit Carson Sertoma (an international service club). Michelle, a former police officer and emergency trauma room assistant, has seen the devastation that has come from America's failed war on drugs. Families broken up because of parents being put in jail for non-violent drug use, addicts not able to find safe and secure help with their addiction and a host of problems that the ordinary citizen cannot imagine. Michelle will share her experiences and provide to club members viable solutions to America's failed drug policies. http://www.leap.cc/events [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 11:38:59 PT Dankhank Your recipe sounds really good. We haven't eaten yet. I know that Thanksgiving is a day of thanks to me. Thank you and everyone for being so cool and helpful over all this time we've been fighting the good fight.Thanks again for the song. If you don't have this song here it is. It's over 4 minutes long.http://www.beechwood.waterloo.on.ca/peace.wma [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Dankhank on November 24, 2005 at 11:18:17 PT Red ... FoM, the internet is astounding in it's availabilty to pass information quickly and widely.Something to be thankful for this day ...Had awesome turkey and will again this day, and hey, I want credit for this last thought, so if anyone makes any cash out of it I want some ... :-)In the morning some time I will make a turkey/dressing/gravy/maybe a little spud/cheddar and jalepeno omlette ... dice the meat, prepare the combination you have chosen, for the first couple of years I just did turkey/gravy/dressing/potatoe, pre-warm ingredients if you like, then enjoy ...You heard it here first, folks ...Happy Thanksgiving all [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 09:04:24 PT runruff Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. God Bless Everyone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by runruff on November 24, 2005 at 08:20:00 PT: Gooble, gooble! And God bless everyone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 07:20:52 PT Mayan Cindy Sheehan would be my choice. She is a hero to me. Bless her heart!Happy Thanksgiving! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 24, 2005 at 07:17:43 PT Dankhank Happy Thanksgiving to you too. I put Panama Red on a CD for my husband. Someone asked on the CB radio for a country song so my husband keyed in Panama Red! I bet it blew a few drivers minds for a little while. Have a wonderful day! [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by mayan on November 24, 2005 at 01:26:57 PT FoM Thanks for the news on Angel. She didn't lose against the supremes. She's still battling. How could any person or government deny a person their right to survive? This all seems so trivial and juvenile! I must admit that I am thankful that I ended up as a human being that would give my shirt or anything, any medicine, anything at all that could ease someones pain without debilitating them. I am glad that I'm not the one that would cage them or persecute them in any way. What can the prohibitionists be thankful for? What would be better if the cannabis plant was eradicated from this earth? I wonder why it has to be this way but I know there must be a reason.Anyway, happy Thanksgiving all! This year I am thankful for all the usual suspects AND Cindy Sheehan. She is my person of the year even though the year isn't over yet! Let's say we vote for Cindy as TIME's person of the year or even vote for someone here like FoM or Steve Tuck? Angel? Irv? Anyway, vote for whoever you want... Use this form to send in your nominees for Person of the Year: http://www.time.com/time/personoftheyear/2005/walkup/talkback.html#form [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Dankhank on November 23, 2005 at 21:08:19 PT Happy Thanksgiving to all ... peace to all ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Hope on November 23, 2005 at 18:16:30 PT Toker00 :0)A very merry Thanksgiving to you, too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on November 23, 2005 at 18:11:35 PT Happy Thanksgiving to you... happy Thanksgiving to youhappy THANKSGIVING, happy thanksgiving,HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU!!!!! and many more...Or is that another song I'm thinking of? :] Peace to you all. Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 23, 2005 at 18:09:23 PT Related Article From CBS5.com Angel Raich Appeals For Right To Medical Marijuana ***November 23, 2005San Francisco -- An Oakland medical marijuana user returned to a federal appeals court in San Francisco today with new arguments on why she should be allowed to use cannabis. Angel Raich contends in a brief filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that she has a fundamental liberty right to take "the only medication that enables her to avoid intolerable pain and death." The brief argues that barring her from using marijuana would violate her "fundamental right to life" under the Fifth Amendment due process guarantee of the Constitution. Raich, 40, says she needs marijuana to combat lack of appetite and severe pain from several illnesses. Robert Raich, who is Angel Raich's husband and attorney, said, "This case implicates perhaps the most fundamental right of all, the right to preserve one's life." In June, Raich lost a different argument, based on the Constitution's commerce clause, in the U.S. Supreme Court. Raich and another patient, Diane Monson of Oroville, sought to argue that their locally grown medical marijuana was not part of interstate commerce and thus was not subject to federal laws criminalizing marijuana. But the high court said Congress's power to regulate interstate commerce includes the authority to ban marijuana grown and used within a state. Raich's new brief revives several other constitutional arguments that were not resolved by the Supreme Court. The brief asks the appeals court to order a federal trial judge in San Francisco to issue an injunction protecting Raich from federal prosecution for using medical marijuana. Raich says she is entitled to use marijuana under California's Compassionate Use Act, a 1996 voter initiative that allows seriously ill patients to use cannabis on a doctor's recommendation. Federal courts have thus far ruled, however, that federal laws do not allow any exception for the state law. Luke Macaulay, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco, said government attorneys had no comment and will respond in court papers. The government's brief in the case is due in 20 days and Raich's reply is due 10 days after that, but either side may ask for an extension, according to Robert Raich. In addition raising a due process argument, Raich's brief contends she has a right to use medical marijuana under the common-law doctrine of medical necessity. In another case concerning the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, the Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that the medical necessity doctrine doesn't apply to medical marijuana distributors. But Raich's brief notes that Justice John Paul Stevens and two other justices reserved judgment on what they called "the difficult issue" of whether medical marijuana users, as opposed to distributors, might be entitled to use a necessity argument. Copyright: MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc.http://www.cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/11/23/n/HeadlineNews/MEDICAL-MARIJUANA-CAS/resources_bcn_html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 23, 2005 at 17:55:26 PT Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Sometimes good things happen and this makes me very happy. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment