Pubdate: Tue, 07 Jun 2005
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Copyright: 2005 Independent Media Institute
Contact:  http://www.alternet.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451
Author: Ann Harrison
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration ( www.dea.gov )
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )
Cited: Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative ( www.rxcbc.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

SUPREMES UPHOLD STATUS QUO

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal authorities have the
power to prosecute medical cannabis patients. Medical cannabis patient
Angel Raich says she has no plans to stop using marijuana under
California law and will take her fight to Congress.

"Just because the Supreme Court today has ruled against me does not
mean that the war on patients should begin," said Raich at an
emotional press conference. "It means that it is time for the federal
government to have some compassion and have some heart and please use
common sense and not use taxpayer dollars to come in and lock us up."

Raich, together with fellow patient Diane Monson sought a court order
preventing the federal government from arresting them and two
caregivers who grow Raich's medical cannabis. The action stemmed from
a raid on Monson's property by federal authorities who seized the
cannabis she grew to treat her chronic pain condition.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the women an injunction
against prosecution, but the U.S. government appealed the case,
Gonzales v. Raich, to the Supreme Court. The justices ruled in a
6-to-3 decision that the federal government can enforce federal drug
laws through its power to regulate interstate commerce under the
Commerce Clause.

Angel Raich's husband, Robert Raich, who served as one of the
attorneys in her case, viewed the decision as a narrow ruling that did
not address questions of due process or medical necessity raised in
the closely watched case. He emphasized that that the decision will
not impact state medical marijuana laws in Alaska, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and
Vermont that protect patients from arrest by state and local
authorities. Raich noted that federal agencies make only 1 percent of
the nation's 750,000 marijuana arrests every year.

"This case had much to gain to protect patients under federal law but
nothing to lose because state law is in effect and it preserves the
status quo," Robert Raich said. "The federal government will claim as
it always has that medical cannabis is not recognized under the
federal law, but it is legal for patients under state law, so we have
not changed the state versus federal conflict here."

Raich charged that it was irresponsible for Congress to ignore medical
evidence and prohibit seriously ill patients from using cannabis under
federal law, and that other courts could consider the due process and
medical necessity arguments. The justices agreed that the issue must
now be taken up by Congress. "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," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens in the last paragraph of
his majority opinion.

Angel Raich, who says she would die without cannabis to ease her
numerous medical conditions, said she will soon undergo surgery to
treat an early stage of cervical cancer and must continue to use
medical cannabis because she cannot tolerate other painkillers. She
says she even considered leaving the country, but her two children
ultimately encouraged her to stay and keep fighting for the rights of
cannabis patients.

"I don't like using cannabis; I use it because I have to to stay
alive. I promised my kids I would be here for them," said Raich. "I
would like to follow the law but I can't because the law is unjust. I
will continue to fight if it takes the last breath in my body."

Raich says she will travel to Washington D.C. later this month to urge
Congress to pass an amendment to an appropriations bill that bars the
Drug Enforcement Administration from using its funds to raid and
arrest medical cannabis patients. The U.S. House of Representatives is
expected to vote on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana
amendment next week.

Raich noted that she lobbied members of Congress earlier this year
with talk show host Montel Williams, who uses medical cannabis to ease
the symptoms of his multiple sclerosis. But Raich says many members of
Congress would not meet with her and that people in positions of power
must get more involved in pressuring Congress to reform marijuana
laws. "I am here to talk on behalf of constituents and they are not
taking my calls," Raich said. "Why? I want to know."

California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who supports medical
cannabis, submitted an amicus brief supporting the Raich case as did a
number of other states. "Today's ruling does not overturn California
law permitting the use of medical marijuana," said Lockyer in a
statement. "Although I am disappointed in the outcome of today's
decision, legitimate medical marijuana patients in California must
know that state and federal laws are no different today than they were
yesterday."

The arguments in the case were crafted to appeal to federalist Supreme
Court justices with a history of upholding states rights. The swing
justices were Anthony Kennedy and Antonin Scalia, who had ruled for
states rights in past decisions regarding guns in school zones and
violence against women. But in the Raich case they broke with their
conservative colleagues to uphold the powers of the federal government.

"Diane Monson and Angel Raich use marijuana that has never been bought
or sold, that has never crossed state lines, and that has no
demonstrable effect on the national market for marijuana," wrote
Clarence Thomas in his dissenting opinion. "If Congress can regulate
this under the Commerce Clause, then it can regulate virtually
anything -- and the federal government is no longer one of limited and
enumerated powers."

Thomas was joined in dissent by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and
Sandra Day O'Connor.

Some activists are concerned that the ruling will encourage federal
authorities to arrest medical cannabis patients and the growers and
dispensaries that provide their marijuana. The DEA has maintained
throughout the Raich case that all marijuana use is illegal and that
the agency has an obligation to uphold the law.

"Marijuana is not medicine," said DEA spokesperson Richard Meyer, who
declined to say whether federal authorities are planning to target the
medical cannabis community.

State law enforcement authorities in some California municipalities
have voiced concern that doctors are interpreting the state law too
broadly and giving medical cannabis recommendations to those who don't
need it. But Steve Fox, director of government relations for the
Washington D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, notes different states
apply different standards for qualifying as a medical cannabis
patient. He adds that recently recalled pharmaceutical painkillers
such as Vioxx have proven to be much more harmful than cannabis.

In addition to its potential for sparking new federal prosecution, the
Raich decision will impact over 30 pending federal medical cannabis
cases, including that of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative
(OCBC) where Raich used to purchase her medical cannabis. The OCBC
lost its case in the Supreme Court on a medical necessity argument and
has been barred from distributing medical cannabis pending a lower
court decision. "I didn't expect to win in court -- this is not a
legal problem, this is a political problem," said OCBC director Jeff
Jones.

Jones believes the federal government may well see the decision as a
greenlight to prosecute patients, growers and dispensary owners. But
he believes those criminal trials and the controversy they generate
will ultimately shift the politics of medical cannabis. "It will be
painful for the people involved, but it will help change these laws,"
Jones said. "Bring it on."

Ann Harrison is a freelance reporter working in the Bay Area.
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