June 6, 2005

Feds May Go After Sick People Who Use Pot
By GINA HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities may prosecute sick people who smoke pot on doctors' orders, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, concluding that state medical marijuana laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug.

The decision is a stinging defeat for marijuana advocates who had successfully pushed 10 states to allow the drug's use to treat various illnesses.

Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the 6-3 decision, said that Congress could change the law to allow medical use of marijuana.

The closely watched case was an appeal by the Bush administration in a case that it lost in late 2003. At issue was whether the prosecution of medical marijuana users under the federal Controlled Substances Act was constitutional.

Under the Constitution, Congress may pass laws regulating a state's economic activity so long as it involves "interstate commerce" that crosses state borders. The California marijuana in question was homegrown, distributed to patients without charge and without crossing state lines.

Stevens said there are other legal options for patients, "but perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress."

California's medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 1996, allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state have laws similar to California.

In those states, doctors generally can give written or oral recommendations on marijuana to patients with cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses.

___

June 6, 2005

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/US_Supreme_Court/Scotus_Medical_Marijuana.html


Deb

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050606101709990001&ncid=NWS00010000000001

Updated: 11:38 AM EDT
Supreme Court Rules Against Medicinal Use of Marijuana

Whatever-
If these people are in pain, and the other LEGAL PRESCRIBED medications DON'T WORK, then what do they do? Suffer for the rest of their lives because a few people who don't come close to understanding their pain decided that they should suffer?
Pot- ACK! Scary! Evil!
Again- whatever.
I hope that these people do continue to use weed to ease their pain- but I am sure the law will find a way of locking them up for it.
Ridiculous.

I am as big of supporter for legalization as you might find, but the supreme court did not rule against marijuana per se. However, they did rule that federal law supercedes state law. Federal laws have always superceded state law. Justice O'Conner was correct in her assesment that federal law concerns the interstate transpport of illegal substances, but that was not the issue put forth by the prosocution. The prosocution's case centered around the fact that marijuana use, possesion, and cultivation is banned under federal law. If this ruling is to be seriously challenged in the future the Federal laws must be changed first. I would love to see full legalization of marijuana, but the ruling was constitutionally correct.

Sidenote: This must have been another one of those "liberal judge activist" rulings the rightwingers constantly complain about, lol.

Relating to this story; Christopher P. M. Conrad is considered a world expert on Cannabis and will be on the radio show called 'Coast to Coast' this evening which would be July 7th at 1AM est. He will be discussing this ruling. He will be on the show for only the first half hour. The radio show is on stations all over North America and you can look up your area from this web site: http://www.coasttocoastam.com/info/wheretolisten.html

My brother uses it for medical reasons - I make a tea out of it for him, the local police here actually deliver it to my door and charge me a certain fee. I have a doctors certificate for it, and therefore it is legal for him to use it.

Let's waste more taxpayers money on arresting and charging the sick and elderly, who we all know are extremely dangerous! You know enough is enough. We have enough stupied laws out there. Go after those that are a true threat to society and try to deal with them in a humane way and let those that are in need of help get it. If any of my loved ones needed it for medical reasons I wouldn't stop them. Neither would any of those who passed that law. Things are getting so out of control, more so every day.

My brother has ALS and they give him morphine, valium, soma, and daladids (I'm sure i spelled that wrong) but he can't have pot, which is a lot less harmful to his system. This all just makes me mad. If it helps, he should have it. He's going to die and i don't think a little pot is going to do any damage. He says it made him feel more calm and it eased the tension in his muscles. He is so tired of withdrawl from morphine because his dr. and his HMO can't get anything straight. He got caught with pot in the hospital once and they called the cops. Thankfully, the judge ws sympathetic and dismissed the charges. I read somewhere that Canada has come out with some kind of oral spray for med. use.

I read somewhere that Canada has come out with some kind of oral spray for med. use.

Yes it has and has been approved by the Canadian Government, its called Sativex and is peppermint flavoured (believe it or not !!!)
Here is a link about that: http://www.cannabis.net/sativex/

In this article it says it will be available in a few weeks but it is now in Canada.

Witchlinblue

Further to this, a pharmaceutical company called GW Pharmaceutical is seeking FDA approval to start clinical trials in the US. So that could be good news if they get approval.

Witchlinblue

When I was pregnant with my son, I went into premature labor, from being really sick. They tried all these different kind of drugs to stop it and nothing worked. If they had to deliver him, he would of died. I had a dutch OB, that got permission to give me a special "injection" that they were trialing on cancer patients that were really nauseated and sick. Within five minutes of this drug, I stopped vomiting, the labor stopped, and I felt great. I asked him what it was, he told me it was the THC out of marijuana. (though it was in injection form).
They just started trialing this in New South Wales Australia for people that suffer chronic pain. So far, its done well, but other states here in Australia are hesitant to follow.
On a down note, I knew a lady in Georgia that smoked it for glucoma. She used to get it legally, and didnt smoke alot of it, though she got the same amount every week or so. Someone got word that she had it, and broke into her house, killed her, and took off with a heap of pot. :(
I guess there is 2 sides to everything.

They also have a synthetic (sp) THC that I know they have used in trials but I dont know what came of it. I wonder if that is what they gave you because that is injected.

Well Im at least glad the 'colonies' are getting things together when it comes to less harmful ways to control pain, lets hope it spreads. (Kayla, when I lived in England my landlord referred to me as the girl from the colonies, he was 'older' :) )