cannabisnews.com: ACLU To Protest County's Marijuana Lawsuit





ACLU To Protest County's Marijuana Lawsuit
Posted by CN Staff on January 23, 2006 at 22:07:33 PT
By Gig Conaughton, Staff Writer 
Source: North County Times
San Diego, CA -- Several groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, plan to demand today that county supervisors drop their legal challenge of California's 9-year-old medical marijuana law.Kevin Keenan, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties, said the groups plan to petition county supervisors to start issuing identification cards and registering medical marijuana users ---- actions county supervisors already defied when ordered by the state.
Keenan said if the supervisors refuse to withdraw their lawsuit, the ACLU would immediately ask federal judges for permission to join the lawsuit as an opponent ---- permission that may or may not be granted.Officials from the marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, the Drug Policy Alliance, and local patients who use marijuana as a medicine are also expected to attend today's county board meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. at the County Administration Center in San Diego.There isn't expected to be much interplay between supervisors and the visiting groups because the issue is not on the board's agenda, meaning supervisors can listen but cannot debate the issue.On Friday, the county, after a unanimous vote by supervisors in December, filed a precedent-setting lawsuit to overturn California's voter-approved medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, the "Compassionate Use Act."Supervisors say Prop. 215 should be pre-empted by federal law, which deems all marijuana use illegal and does not recognize the drug as having any medicinal value.Supervisors have opposed Prop. 215 since it was proposed and passed by voters in 1996. In recent months, they have repeatedly said they just want to settle the contradiction between state and federal law. Prop. 215 legally allows seriously ill Californians to use "obtain and use" marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. But they can still be arrested and prosecuted by federal drug agents.Marijuana advocacy groups and county officials said Friday that the lawsuit was the first to attempt to overturn any of the voter-approved medical marijuana laws that have been passed in 11 states.Keenan, meanwhile, said the ACLU was ready to file an "intervention" motion asking to become part of the county lawsuit, to "represent" sick patients who use marijuana as medicine.The county's lawsuit was filed against the state and Sandra Shewry, director of California's Department of Health Services."We will file a motion to intervene and become a party to the lawsuit," Keenan said. "Under the current suit, the county would be represented, and the state would be represented, but there wouldn't be an advocate for the sick and dying people who use medicinal marijuana. And we would make sure that their voices and situations are understood."Keenan said the ACLU has been following the county's medical marijuana drama with interest, although the group had not testified to the board about it from the time the board publicly decided to sue in December, and when they filed their lawsuit Friday.The county's lawsuit cites the U.S. Constitution's "Supremacy Clause" ---- Article VI, which states that the constitution and federal law would be the "supreme" law of the land ---- and a 1961 international treaty as its argument that Prop. 215 should be pre-empted.The "Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs" treaty, signed by the United States and 150 other nations, ruled marijuana illegal.Keenan, however, said recent case law ---- such as last week's decision to indirectly uphold Oregon's assisted-suicide law ---- illustrate that the county's pre-emption argument is hollow."This (county lawsuit) is being done for bad political reasons and not good legal reasons," Keenan said.John Sansone, the county's top lawyer, disagreed, saying the county believes its pre-emption argument is correct."That's why there are courts to decide these issues," Sansone said.Source: North County Times (CA)Author: Gig Conaughton, Staff Writer Published: Monday, January 23, 2006 Copyright: 2006 North County Times Contact: editor nctimes.comWebsite: http://www.nctimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:ACLUhttp://www.aclu.org/Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/County Files Suit To Overturn Med Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21503.shtmlSan Diego Fights Medical Marijuana Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21499.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on January 24, 2006 at 20:43:03 PT
Ocean temperatures off Santa Barbara 
on behalf of ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Crockett Williams" Ocean temperatures off Santa Barbara are now highest in 1,400 years."The world has already passed the point of no return for climate
change, and civilisation as we know it is now unlikely to survive,
according to James Lovelock, the scientist and green guru who
conceived the idea of Gaia - the Earth which keeps itself fit for life.""It's not behaving like it used to behave," Peterson said. New Energy Technologies to replace nuclear and fossil fuel power
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new-energy-solutions
http://www.newenergymovement.org
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hemp for environmental victory planting programs to stabilize climate.
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on January 24, 2006 at 18:05:39 PT
Arthropod
Thanks for that article. It really helps explain what is going on in the world. The elites within and without the miltary industrial complex decided years ago that America would be the world's "last superpower". When America was finally challenged then the earth's population would be reduced (Why don't the elite start with themselves?). In other words, we are on the brink of WWIII because of lust for dominance and power and the inability to be fiscally responsible. Here's an article similar to yours I posted a few days ago...Walker's World: Iran's Really Big Weapon: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Walkers_World_Irans_Really_Big_Weapon.html
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Comment #8 posted by dongenero on January 24, 2006 at 15:07:17 PT
Arthropod
Thanks for that article
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by siege on January 24, 2006 at 14:09:00 PT
No Increased Schizophrenia Risk
http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=7318 24 Jan 2006              Page 1
No Increased Schizophrenia Risk With Use Of CannabisThe possibility of cannabis use leading to schizophrenia has been ruled out according to a latest report from the Government drugs advisers. The definitive link between cannabis use and impairment of mental health (psychological and psychomotor performance) however, cannot be ruled out. It can lead to acute intoxication subsequently resulting in a relapse of mental illness.
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Comment #6 posted by Arthropod on January 24, 2006 at 13:53:26 PT:
An Interesting Editorial...
Found this article while browsing my usual haunts. My first post in a while.
Iranian Oil Bourse
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Comment #5 posted by siege on January 24, 2006 at 13:21:11 PT
The War on Medical Marijuana Users: Another Needle
The War on Medical Marijuana Users: Another Needless Death Pending?Barry Hess just wrote an interesting opinion piece about Steve Kubby at PHXNews.com. From his article:  Steve has a rare disease (Pheochromocytoma) that causes a constant overproduction of adrenaline, which unchecked, can be fatal. My friend, Michael Badnarik put it well:    “We all know what it’s like to be surprised or scared so badly that your heart suddenly races, and it takes a few seconds to catch your breath. Now—try to imagine having your adrenal level so out of control that your heart pounds constantly, and you experience high anxiety all day long. Not a very pretty thought.”
Mrs. Kubby added, “Today is election day in Canada and tomorrow all of the Ministers who can prevent Steve’s life from being endangered will be free to act and do the right thing. I hope that all our friends, especially in Canada, will call the Ministers and urge them to stop this injustice.”  • Joe Volpe, Minister of Immigration, Voice: (613) 954-1064,
  Fax: (613) 957-2688
  • Ujjal Dosanjh, Minister of Health, Voice: (613) 995-7052, Fax:
  (613) 995-2962
  • Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice, (613) 992-4621, Fax: (613)
  990-7522
  • Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister, (613) 991-2924, Fax:
  (613) 952-2240http://hammeroftruth.com/2006/01/23/the-war-on-medical-marijuana-users-another-needless-death-pending/
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 24, 2006 at 08:06:43 PT
LAT: A Czech Toke on Freedom
By Jeffrey Fleishman, Times Staff WriterJanuary 24, 2006 After communism's fall, the scent of marijuana became a symbol of liberation. It's now so mainstream, it's raising new concerns.PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The man with the dancing eyebrows and the blurry tattoo stands in the chilled night and opens the barred gate to his apartment. A dog sleeps on the bed; a snapping turtle floats inside a glass coffee table. A fan hums and a hot light glows in the bathroom, where 11 marijuana plants ripple like a tiny field against the porcelain.Sit, says J.X. Dolezal, a kind of Czech version of the late Hunter S. Thompson who has written the books "How to Take Drugs" and "Stoned County." He opens a box. There's a sprinkle across paper, a nimble roll of the fingers, a lick, a match strike, a curl of smoke — and a smile.  
"Do you mind?" says Dolezal, his face slightly obscured as he exhales. "Excuse me if I don't offer you any. This marijuana's often too strong for my visitors. I had to resuscitate one guy for almost an hour once. You know, a higher percentage of people here grow their own marijuana than probably anywhere. It's typically Czech: a do-it-yourself nation."
 Snipped:Complete Article: http://tinyurl.com/cj6oe
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Comment #3 posted by whig on January 24, 2006 at 06:02:57 PT
The Penalty for Torturing to Death
FORT CARSON, CO, United States (UPI) -- A U.S. soldier convicted of smothering an Iraqi general during interrogation will not spend time in jail, but has been reprimanded and fined $6,000.A six-member military panel delivered the sentence for Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr., at 8:05 p.m. Monday at Fort Carson, Colo., to cheering from soldiers in the courtroom.Welshofer was convicted Saturday of smothering Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush with a sleeping bag during a Nov. 26, 2003, interrogation in Baghdad. He will forfeit $1,500 of his monthly pay for four months and, for 60 days, can travel only to his place of duty, his site of worship and the barracks, the Denver Post reported.Before the panel began deliberating, the 43-year-old Welshofer took the witness stand and pleaded for the members not to send him to jail or end his 19-year military career.Welshofer could have been sentenced to life in prison had he been found guilty of murder. Convicted on a lesser charge, he faced a maximum of 39 months` confinement and dismissal from the Army.http://news.monstersandcritics.com/northamerica/article_1078824.php/U.S._interrogator_reprimanded_for_death
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on January 24, 2006 at 05:46:33 PT
Not My truth; Our Father's truth.
This is a Biblical issue; always has been.The Van-guard is going down.There IS only one God; He aint going down and neither is anyone who is with Him.Have You had Your hemp today?Christ StanThe Green Collar WorkerFrom Stoner and Climax
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Comment #1 posted by whig on January 23, 2006 at 23:01:13 PT
"Precedent-setting"?
This showed up in the previous article, too: "On Friday, the county, after a unanimous vote by supervisors in December, filed a PRECEDENT-SETTING lawsuit to overturn California's voter-approved medical marijuana law, Proposition 215, the 'Compassionate Use Act.'" (emphasis added)What makes a suit precedent-setting when it hasn't been ruled on by any court, much less overruled anything.
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