Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2012
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2012 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J. M. Smith

NOT QUITE AS CONTROLLED?

A Federal Court Hears a Case That Could Lead to Marijuana Being 
Classified As Having Medical Value

The lawyers are at it again, shoving legal briefs and filings and 
arguments down each other's throats and generally trying to rip new 
assholes in each other for the benefit of all mankind.

This time, I am referring to a federal case brought by Americans for 
Safe Access, a medical-marijuana-advocacy group that has been 
fighting for more than 10 years to get cannabis removed from Schedule 
I under the Controlled Substances Act. The lawyers at ASA think the 
Drug Enforcement Administration made a mistake last year when it 
rejected a bid to reschedule cannabis.

Way back in 2002, ASA asked the feds to downgrade marijuana, based on 
the opinions of many, many doctors and scientists who think it has 
medical value. (Schedule I is reserved for drugs with no medical 
merit.) The case dragged in the hallowed halls of the DEA until last 
year, when the agency rejected the request, citing a federal study 
that found no consensus among medical professionals that marijuana is 
medically effective.

ASA then asked the 12 judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals' D.C. 
circuit to review the decision, claiming consensus is unnecessary. 
Lawyers for ASA claim the feds need only consider whether marijuana 
is "accepted by qualified experts," according to an analysis at 
FindLaw.com. Opening arguments took place this week.

If the appeals court agrees with ASA, the DEA would seemingly be 
forced to reschedule marijuana.

There may not be a consensus, but there are certainly hundreds of 
qualified experts who agree MMJ works. The Wall Street Journal 
checked around, and it seems the American College of Physicians, 
American Medical Association and American Nurses Association think 
the stuff has medical value. These people are qualified experts. 
Donald Abrams, chief of hematology-oncology at San Francisco General 
Hospital, is a qualified expert, too. He uses cannabis to treat 
cancer and HIV patients.

"In my practice every day as a cancer specialist, I see patients who 
have loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting from their chemotherapy, 
pain on and off of opiates, anxiety, depression, and insomnia," 
Abrams said, according to an ASA news release, adding that all can be 
relieved with cannabis.

Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration could 
prove to be a landmark case, possibly the straw that breaks the 
federal camel's back. It could spark a cascade of events leading to a 
loosening of the federal marijuana choke chain.

"What's at stake in this case is nothing less than our country's 
scientific integrity and the imminent needs of millions of patients," 
said ASA chief counsel Joe Elford, who argued the case.

The folks at ASA aren't the only ones seeking reclassification. Last 
November, the governors of Washington, Rhode Island and Vermont asked 
the feds to reschedule marijuana to Schedule II, which is reserved 
for drugs with medical value. Also last November, the state of 
Colorado also officially asked the feds to reschedule marijuana. That 
half-hearted request was required by a voter-passed initiative in 
2010. Those requests are pending action, and if history is a guide, 
it will be years before the DEA makes a decision.

But I say "no thank you" to rescheduling MMJ. I prefer to get my 
herbal remedies from herbalists, not pharmacists. Putting marijuana 
on Schedule II would only make matters worse. I do not want to fight 
past people in white smocks any more than I want to fight past the 
Men in Blue to get my meds.

So cross your fingers. The arguments are argued and filings filed. 
Now we just wait for a decision from the lofty halls of justice in 
the Second Highest Court in the Land. Relax. The lawyers are on the case.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom