Pubdate: Tue, 14 Jun 2005
Source: Whittier Daily News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc
Contact: 
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207%257E12045%257E,00.html
Website: http://www.whittierdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/497
Author: Devlin Barrett, Associated Press
Cited: Drug Policy Alliance http://www.drugpolicy.org
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich http://www.angeljustice.org
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Raich (Gonzales v. Raich)

POT ADVOCATES TARGET VOTE

Supreme Court Setback May Work in Their Favor

Advocates for medical marijuana hope a recent setback in the Supreme
Court will boost their strength in Congress, and lawmakers from
California and New York plan to force a House vote on the issue today.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., has long supported allowing patients to
use marijuana in states where it can be legally prescribed by a
doctor. He will offer an amendment to a spending bill Tuesday that
would bar federal authorities from making arrests in such cases.

"This is a responsibility Congress should face up to,' said Hinchey,
who is offering the amendment with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.

Hinchey, known for his blistering broadsides against the Bush
administration on issues ranging from the Food and Drug Administration
to the war in Iraq, said the court's decision is a call for
legislators to act.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 6 that federal drug laws trump
medical marijuana statutes in 10 states, allowing federal authorities
to prosecute people who smoke marijuana for pain relief on the
recommendation of their doctors. New York does not permit doctors to
prescribe medical marijuana.

After the decision, federal officials said their focus has been on
criminals engaged in drug trafficking, not the sick and dying.

Hinchey's supporters say the decision only puts more pressure on
Congress to craft a caring policy for those who want to treat their
health problems with marijuana.

And California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has in the past
supported pot use by the sick, said the ruling means "it is now up to
Congress to provide clarity.'

In the past two years, the Hinchey and Rohrabacher amendment has
mustered only about 150 of 435 votes in the House, and even its
boosters concede there is little chance of passage Tuesday.

Opposition to Hinchey's amendment is being organized by Rep. Mark
Souder, R-Ind., who heads the House drug policy subcommittee.

Souder dismisses the effort as a political, not scientific, effort to
gradually legalize marijuana. The lawmaker argues that if scientific
data supports marijuana as a pain medication, it should be studied and
vetted through the regular FDA process.

Hinchey dismisses such arguments. He said even if Congress isn't ready
to accept it, public opinion in the nation has rejected past concerns
about marijuana usage leading to other forms of drug abuse.

Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports laws
allowing medical marijuana, said they hope to pick up about 10 votes.

"That would send a message to the Justice Department that there are
political consequences to their actions,' said Piper. "If the Justice
Department realizes momentum is building on this amendment, they're
going to be less likely to go into states like California and arrest
people for medical marijuana.'

The ten states with statutes that permit doctors to prescribe medical
marijuana are California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana,
Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake