Appeals court on medical marijuana

17 Dec
2003

My previous rants on medical marijuana are just a search away. This particular story deserves wider coverage. Federal appeals court OKs medical marijuana in some cases

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a congressional act outlawing marijuana may not apply to sick people with a doctor’s recommendation in states that have approved medical marijuana laws.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that prosecuting these medical marijuana users under a 1970 federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn’t sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes.

“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,” Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the majority.

The court added that “this limited use is clearly distinct from the broader illicit drug market, as well as any broader commercial market for medical marijuana, insofar as the medical marijuana at issue in this case is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce.”

The decision was a blow to the Justice Department, which argued that medical marijuana laws in nine states were trumped by the Controlled Substances Act, which outlawed marijuana, heroin and a host of other drugs nationwide.

The Justice Department was not immediately available to comment on the ruling from a court some call the nation’s most liberal appeals court.

An excellent, albeit too technical for me, blog summation from a Boston University professor is here – VICTORY IN 9th CIRCUIT MEDICAL CANNABIS CASE!

It will be interesting to see how this ruling is handled. I suspect that the Justice Department will appeal to the Supreme Court. Doesn’t the Justice Department have much more important issues to worry about? Why do we spend so much money to prevent marijuana use in this country? (especially medical marijuana use)

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Related posts:

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1 Response to Appeals court on medical marijuana

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John Anderson

December 17th, 2003 at 8:25 am

Sadly, the DOJ almost has to appeal this. Probably would anyway, with the current administration, but unfortunately Congress did not just class marijuana with heroin as an unecessary narcotic (because morphine was available) but singled it out as “having no medicinal value.” The 9th says it does, which may go too far not to be challenged.

But I expect DOJ to lose, despite the court’s trying [questionably] trying to limit the damage by limiting the damage to interstate commerce, and that will backfire as opposed to asking Congress to move it to a regulated drug class. I doubt DOJ will be able to limit an appeal to the interstate commerce consideration, for which there are precedents in their favor, but will have to prove that it must be outlawed entirely as having no societally beneficial (medicinal) value: they will be in the position of outlawing willow bark for headaches to prevent research into the manufacture of aspirin.