cannabisnews.com: Pot Law on Hold





Pot Law on Hold
Posted by CN Staff on July 04, 2007 at 06:04:21 PT
By David Montero, Rocky Mountain News
Source: Rocky Mountain News
Colorado -- For now, David Damien LaGoy can get his marijuana - thanks in large part to a judge's ruling Tuesday. LaGoy sued the state because the registered medical marijuana provider he wanted to use, Daniel Pope, had reached the state's five-patient maximum and couldn't help him.
The lawsuit claimed the five-patient rule was unfair. Denver District Judge Larry Naves agreed, calling the policy arbitrary. Naves granted an injunction that temporarily allows registered providers to take on as many patients as they like. "There is no reason this plaintiff should suffer," Naves said. During the hearing, LaGoy sat quietly - his gaunt, 105-pound frame shivering from being in the air-conditioned courtroom. At one point, Pope draped his blazer over his shoulders to help keep the 47-year-old warm. LaGoy said during a court recess that he hadn't had any marijuana since last week and that it had been a battle to keep the medications he takes for AIDS and Hepatitis C down. The marijuana, he said, eases the nausea. He testified that if he continues to be erratic about taking the battery of pills, he likely would die. Naves' ruling, he said, gave him hope. "It felt good," he said. "I don't gamble, but it's like winning the lottery." Lawyers for the Colorado attorney general's office argued there were many medical marijuana providers registered with the state and that LaGoy had options. State Registrar Ron Hyman testified that of the 636 caregivers registered with the state, 548 were single-patient providers - meaning each one could take on four more patients under the state statute. But LaGoy said providers were hard to find and that he had developed a trusting relationship with Pope. "It's not like they're listed in the Yellow Pages," LaGoy said. In his ruling for the temporary injunction, the judge also criticized the way the Colorado Department of Health and Environment came up with the five-patient policy. Naves accused the agency of not actively involving the public in the process and also not seeking professional medical input on the matter. The department came up with the five-patient maximum after voters approved the medical marijuana amendment in 2000. Mark Salley, spokesman for the department, said his agency was prepared to follow through with the judge's ruling. "We'll be looking at how best to move forward from here," Salley said. "If people think a limit is appropriate, a way to establish a limit is to involve the state board of health with public input." No date has been set for LaGoy's lawsuit to be tried on its merits, although attorneys for LaGoy believe it could happen in the fall. Based on LaGoy's health, Naves said he was inclined to hurry things along. Note: Judge temporarily halts medical marijuana limit.Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)Author:    David Montero, Rocky Mountain News Published: July 4, 2007Copyright: 2007 Denver Publishing Co.Contact: letters rockymountainnews.comWebsite: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Sensible Coloradohttp://www.sensiblecolorado.org/Medical Pot User, 47, with AIDS Sues Statehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23111.shtmlProsecutors Drop Pot Charges Against AIDS Patienthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22185.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 19, 2007 at 10:36:22 PT
Ruling Streamlines Medical Pot Access
By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News November 19, 2007 Access to medical marijuana will be easier under a ruling by a Denver judge.Denver District Judge Larry Naves last week overturned a state health department policy that restricted providers of medical marijuana to five patients.Damien LaGoy, who uses marijuana to control nausea from AIDS wasting-syndrome and hepatitis C, sued the health department after his caregiver request was denied by the health department in May based on the five patient rule.The policy was adopted by the health department in a closed meeting in 2004.Naves overturned the policy, saying it violated the Colorado open meetings act and the administrative procedures act."I feel safer already," LaGoy said. "Now I can get my medicine from a safe and responsible caregiver instead of taking my chances on the streets.Copyright: 2007 The E.W. Scripps Co.http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/19/ruling-streamlines-medical-pot-access/
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Comment #4 posted by mayan on July 04, 2007 at 17:50:41 PT
Judge Naves
I hope his common sense and compassion are contagious!On this Independence Day I am grateful for Ron Paul. I truly fear for his life. He is risking it all for country...Recapturing the Spirit of Independence - by Rep. Ron Paul:
http://www.antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=11231Here's a must see... Keith Olbermann’s Special Comment: You ceased to be the President of the United States:
http://tinyurl.com/3ancl5THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...The Media Monopoly's 'Code of Silence':
http://globaloutlook.ca/Store/Magazines/12/12ed.htmPeter Dale Scott: 9/11, Canada, left gatekeepes & Zelikow:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_uad3-RsQkAn Open Letter to Project Censored - by Kevin Barrett:
http://mujca.com/projectcensored2.htmThere Are Millions of Us Now:
http://globaloutlook.ca/Store/Magazines/12/12_p3.htmUS Marines Demand 9/11 Truth & Justice - 4th of July Special (short video):
http://911blogger.com/node/97759/11 WAS AN INSIDE JOB - OUR NATION IS IN PERIL:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/
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Comment #3 posted by whig on July 04, 2007 at 13:38:34 PT
Sam Adams
They had us on the defensive for so long, they aren't used to us being able to walk into a court room and speak to them human to human.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on July 04, 2007 at 10:21:21 PT
man to man, human to human
Look what happened when it comes down to two people looking each other in the eye. Even the State's judge couldn't shirk his conscience when staring human suffering in the face. He quickly called bullsh** on the cruel MJ laws.The further away the govt. bureaucrats are, the easier cruelty becomes. Old men in Washington make the decision to send the thugs after sick people 3000 miles away in California.Supreme Court justices sneer and smirk their way through another ruling denying sick people their medicine. "Miles from reality, no care for you no care for me" is what Bob said.Unfortunately for med MJ patients, reality is kicking you in the face 100% of the time, day and night. There is no deviation to the land of political make-believe, where corrupt govt. men and police thugs delude themselves into believing their heinous actions are the best course of action. 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 04, 2007 at 06:26:00 PT
Related Article from The Denver Post
Judge Suspends Pot-Patient Policy***By Howard Pankratz Denver Post Staff WriterJuly 3, 2007Colorado -- A Denver judge suspended a state rule Tuesday limiting the number of medical-marijuana patients a caregiver can see, saying the policy jeopardizes the lives of the patients. "This (policy) was done without public input and appears arbitrary and very unfair to the plaintiff," said Chief Denver District Judge Larry Naves. Naves' ruling came in the case of Denver resident David "Damien" LaGoy, a severely ill, state-licensed medical-marijuana patient who suffers from AIDS and hepatitis C. LaGoy, 47, went to court after the state refused to allow Daniel J. Pope to be his medical-marijuana caregiver because Pope is already caring for five other medical-marijuana patients. In 2000, voters approved Amendment 20, allowing medical-marijuana caregivers to provide the drug for patients who need it. The Colorado Department of Health introduced a policy prohibiting a caregiver from providing the service to more than five patients. But Naves, in issuing his preliminary injunction, said the policy was improperly written and a danger to patients. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6293080
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