Pubdate: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 Source: Juneau Empire (AK) Copyright: 1999 Southeastern Newspaper Corp Contact: 3100 Channel Drive, Juneau, AK 99801 Website: http://www.juneauempire.com/ Author: Cathy Brown, The Juneau Empire POT RULING MAY AFFECT ALASKANS Court Clears Way For Reconsideration Of Medical Marijuana Case A federal appeals court ruling in California is good news for Alaskans who smoke pot for medical reasons, according to an advocate of the state's medical marijuana law. ``This case that went to the appeals court in California turns out to have huge implications for Alaska because we're in the appeals court district,'' said David Finkelstein of Alaskans for Medical Rights. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday said a federal judge should have considered patients' medical needs for marijuana when he ordered a cannabis club in Oakland, Calif., to stop distributing the drug last year. The ruling ``means that the federal law is not an absolute barrier to distribution of marijuana,'' said University of Santa Clara law professor Gerald Uelmen, who helped represent the Oakland center. ``It requires courts to exercise discretion to look at the circumstances of individual patients and weigh that against the public interest.'' The court did not overturn U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer's injunction against the club, but said he must consider the case again, taking into account evidence that some patients need cannabis to treat debilitating and life-threatening conditions. If the decision stands, Alaskans who use marijuana for medical reasons will not need to feel intimidated by the federal law, Finkelstein said. Although voters in Alaska and several other states have passed initiatives legalizing the use of marijuana to treat some medical conditions, it remains illegal under federal law. ``It's the one weakness in our law that's been pointed out over and over,'' Finkelstein said. As a practical matter, the fact that marijuana is illegal at the federal level doesn't affect people who have small quantities of marijuana for their personal medical use. That's because the federal government doesn't bother to prosecute such cases. Karen Loeffler, chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage, said earlier this year she's not aware of federal prosecutions for simple marijuana possession. But Finkelstein said some patients and doctors are still uncomfortable with medical use of marijuana because of the federal prohibition. ``I've had a significant number of doctors tell me it makes a difference to them. They're intimidated by the federal treatment.'' Under Alaska law, medical marijuana users must have a doctor's recommendation and register with the state. Loeffler of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Anchorage said she didn't know enough about the ruling to comment on its implications in Alaska. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake