SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licenses for recommending marijuana to sick patients. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. [continues 132 words]
The federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled yesterday that the federal government may not revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients. The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, is the biggest legal victory yet for voter initiatives in nine states that legalized marijuana for medical purposes. It upholds a five-year-old lower-court decision that blocked the government's efforts to frustrate a 1996 initiative in California. [continues 881 words]
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke the prescription drug licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to sick patients. The court also ruled that the Justice Department may not investigate doctors merely for recommending marijuana, since this would interfere with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. [continues 752 words]
El Dorado County medical marijuana advocates lauded a federal appeals court decision Tuesday that for the first time ruled the government cannot revoke the prescription drug licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to sick patients. The court also ruled that the Justice Department may not investigate doctors merely for recommending marijuana, because this would interfere with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "This is awesome," said Shelly Arnold, a South Lake Tahoe cannabis caregiver, who is also known as "the green goddess" among medical marijuana proponents. "This should give our doctors more confidence in their recommendation for cannabis and, hopefully, encourage them to go to more symposiums and conferences that will educate them on cannabis therapy." [continues 830 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)- A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licenses for recommending marijuana to sick patients. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. [continues 496 words]
SAN FRANCISCO -- Removing a major obstacle to implementation of state medical marijuana laws, a federal appeals court Tuesday prohibited the federal government from cracking down on physicians who recommend pot to their patients. The decision provides a missing link between patients and pot-access laws in states such as California, where marijuana is legal medicine only if recommended by a doctor. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resoundingly rejected a national policy adopted five years ago by the Clinton administration and retained under President Bush. [continues 553 words]
U.S. Can't Punish Physicians Who Recommend Drug A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected one of the U.S. Justice Department's primary legal assaults on medicinal marijuana laws in California and other states, finding it is unconstitutional for federal officials to punish doctors who recommend pot to the sick and dying. The federal government's policy of investigating and threatening to revoke a doctor's license for recommending medicinal marijuana violates the First Amendment and tramples on the doctor-patient relationship, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined. [continues 744 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke the prescription drug licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to sick patients. The court also ruled that the Justice Department may not investigate doctors merely for recommending marijuana, since this would interfere with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. The unanimous opinion by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a 2-year-old court order that prohibited such federal action before any doctors' licenses were revoked. [continues 734 words]
Appeals Panel Says U.S. Can't Investigate Doctors Or Void Their Licenses For Suggesting The Drug To Patients. California, Six Other States Are Affected. The federal government may not revoke a doctor's license to dispense medication, or investigate a physician, for recommending marijuana to sick patients, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday. The 3-0 decision by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest in a series of rulings bolstering efforts in California to normalize the use of marijuana for medical treatment. [continues 1428 words]
Federal Appeals Court Rules Government Can't Revoke Their Licenses SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday for the first time that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licenses for recommending marijuana to sick patients. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously found that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. [continues 175 words]
Ruling Says Doctors Can Recommend Pot A federal appeals court said Tuesday the federal government cannot punish California doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients. The ruling by the three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was a rare legal victory for medical marijuana advocates and was hailed as a significant step toward preserving California's landmark medical marijuana law, which has been continually challenged by the U. S. Justice Department since its adoption in 1996. [continues 840 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licences for recommending marijuana to sick patients. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. circuit court of appeals unanimously ruled that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech rights of doctors and patients. "An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and openly to patients," chief circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said. [continues 411 words]
The Justice Department may not revoke doctors' licenses to dispense medication or investigate doctors for recommending marijuana to sick patients, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a 2-year-old court order prohibiting such federal action and is one of several cases resulting from medical marijuana laws on the books in eight states. Federal prosecutors argued that such tactics are necessary because doctors are interfering with the drug war and circumventing the government's judgment that marijuana has no medical benefits. [continues 447 words]
Court Bans Government Tactic Of Revoking Doctors' Licenses A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday that the federal government may not revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients. The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is the biggest legal victory yet for voter initiatives in nine states that legalized marijuana for medical purposes. It upholds a five-year-old lower-court decision that blocked the government's efforts to frustrate a 1996 initiative in California. [continues 861 words]
Following A Raid In Santa Cruz, Medical Marijuana Supporters Trot Out An Unlikely Argument: States' Rights. SAN FRANCISCO -- Early in the morning of Sept. 5, Drug Enforcement Administration officials raided a small farm near Santa Cruz, Calif., that had provided marijuana for sick and dying patients under California's 1996 medical-marijuana law, Proposition 215. According to the DEA, the 100 to 200 plants seized at the farm confirmed that large-scale production, distribution and sale of marijuana was taking place, a charge that owners Valerie and Michael Corral deny. The Corrals -- who lead the Wo/men's Association for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) and helped craft a 1992 local ordinance in Santa Cruz that foreshadowed Proposition 215 -- were arrested following the raid and later released without being charged. [continues 1211 words]
SAN FRANCISCO -(AP)- The federal government resumed its bid to ban Oregon doctors from helping terminally ill patients commit suicide, urging a federal appeals court Monday to strike down the only such state law in the nation. Attorney General John Ashcroft is seeking to sanction and perhaps hold Oregon doctors criminally liable if they prescribe lethal doses of medication, as allowed by the voter-approved Death With Dignity Act. "The attorney general has permissibly concluded that suicide is not a legitimate medical purpose," Justice Department attorney Jonathan H. Levy wrote in the appeal filed at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. [continues 531 words]
Marijuana appears to be very effective for treating pain and a variety of other conditions, particularly in patients who have not been helped by prescription drugs, its advocates claim, despite the debate about the legality of using the drug as a medication. "It's a very effective medication for many people who have failed to get good results from standard medications and that's why so many people are devoted to it and risking their lives and career to get this drug," Ethan Russo, a neurologist in private practice in Missoula, Mont., who has studied medicinal marijuana, told United Press International. [continues 1002 words]
In an effort to fight what they say is the targeting of the medical marijuana community by federal law enforcement, a California group called the Cannabis Action Network (CAN) has launched a campaign to revive the statewide movement that helped pass Prop. 215 -- the 1996 initiative that allows seriously ill Californians to use cannabis with a doctor's recommendation. The campaign, called Americans for Safe Access (ASA), was sparked by a series of raids carried out in San Francisco by the Drug Enforcement Administration on Feb. 12. The operation led to the indictment of four men under federal narcotics laws and the closure of the city's Sixth Street Harm Reduction Center medical cannabis club. The men, who are legal medical marijuana patients under California law, face cannabis cultivation and conspiracy charges -- that carry potential life sentences. [continues 1875 words]
SAN FRANCISCO - The government fought a two-pronged battle in the drug war Monday, arguing in a federal appeals court that it can ban hemp foods and strip doctors of their licenses for recommending marijuana. In the case brought by the hemp industry, the Drug Enforcement Administration asked a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to let it outlaw food products containing hemp. The court last month blocked the DEA from enforcing a ban it enacted in October, pending the outcome of the case. [continues 578 words]
A 9th Circuit panel sounded ready Monday to uphold an injunction that prohibits the federal government from investigating or punishing California doctors who recommend marijuana to patients. Though it's possible the judges will send the case back to the trial court in light of last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision on medical marijuana, they expressed few reservations about the need for the injunction and seemed almost eager to keep it in place. With Judge Alex Kozinski setting the tone, the panel hammered away at Department of Justice attorney Michael Stern, who argued the injunction has tied the government's hands from going after abuses. [continues 561 words]
