-- Nathan
----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com> To: "lbo-talk" <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 12:39 PM Subject: judicial tyranny
[yet another reason to despise the Supreme Court]
May 14, 2001
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High Court Rules That Marijuana Can't Be Used for Treating Illness
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court handed medical-marijuana users a major defeat Monday, ruling that a federal law classifying the drug as illegal has no exception for ill patients.
The decision was a major disappointment to many sufferers of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses, who have said the drug helped them in combating the effects of their diseases.
"In the case of the Controlled Substances Act, the statute reflects a determination that marijuana has no medical benefits worthy of an exception' outside the confines of a government-approved research project, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court. Justice Stephen Breyer didn't participate in the case because his brother, a federal judge, initially presided over the case.
In 1998 the federal government sought an injunction against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative and five other marijuana distributors. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, brother of the high-court justice, sided with the government.
All the clubs except the Oakland group eventually closed down, and the Oakland club turned to registering potential marijuana recipients while it awaited a final ruling.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision, ruling that medical necessity is a legal defense. Judge Charles Breyer followed up by issuing strict guidelines for making that claim.
But Justice Thomas noted Monday the federal act states that marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use."
Advocates of medical marijuana say the drug can ease the side effects of chemotherapy, prevent the nausea that causes AIDS patients to waste away, and even allow multiple sclerosis sufferers to rise from a wheelchair and walk.
Several states are considering medical-marijuana laws, and Congress may revisit the issue this year.
Voters in Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical marijuana. Hawaii's legislature passed a similar law and the governor signed it last year. (United States vs. Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative)