Medical Marijuana Patients' News & Views

Protesting the overruling by federal judges of state medical marijuana laws, critics recently descended on the doorstep of the Warwick outpost of the US Drug Enforcement Administration. Similar protests organized by Americans for Safe Access, a non-profit group concerned with ensuring access to medical marijuana, took place in 54 other US cities earlier this month. DEA raids of state medical hemp repositories in northern California triggered the protests.

Thomas Angell, president of the University of Rhode Island's Hemp Organization for Prohibition Elimination ( HOPE ), wasn't thrilled by the turnout for the Warwick protest, but he still believes it was worthwhile. "At least local DEA agents know we're here," he says. Angell and his cohorts attempted to deliver "cease and desist" orders to stop federal involvement in states' medical marijuana proceedings, but were rebuffed by the DEA at every turn. According to Angell, "We were basically surrounded by seven agents who wouldn't accept our order."

In other cities, similar protests created more of a buzz. In Washington, DC, people chained themselves to the front of the Justice Department and 10 were arrested. According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles natives, many of whom are plagued with chronic illnesses, are participating in an "open-ended hunger strike and encampment" in response to the DEA's actions.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws ( NORML ), pot's medical uses are manifold. According to NORML's Web site, marijuana is a drug that can provide "pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain ( pain from nerve damage ) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders. Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia."

The DEA, not surprisingly, is one of the most vocal opponents of medical marijuana. According to the agency's Web site, "There are over 10,000 scientific studies that prove marijuana is a harmful addictive drug. There is not one reliable study that demonstrates marijuana has any medical value." The site goes on to say, "Medical marijuana has been promoted for "compassionate use" to assist people with cancer, AIDS and glaucoma. Scientific studies show the opposite is true; marijuana is damaging to individuals with these illnesses. In fact, people suffering with AIDS and glaucoma are being used unfairly by groups whose real agenda is to legalize marijuana."

US CA: Pot Activists Want DEA Out Of Oakland Building
Pubdate: Wed, 19 Feb 2003
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact: triblet@angnewspapers.com
Website: http://www.oaklandtribune.com/
Author: Colin Atagi

OAKLAND -- The fight for access to medical marijuana continued Tuesday across the nation and in downtown Oakland, as demonstrators demanded the eviction of the Drug Enforcement Administration from the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building.

Members of Americans for Safe Access ( ASA ) and medical marijuana supporters protested government actions preventing patients from using marijuana to treat illnesses.

Protesters gathered from noon to 1 p.m. outside the building waiting for the DEA to respond. Fake eviction notices from the protesters were posted on the building's front doors.

"The government is overreaching something that is supported by 80 percent of Americans," said Hilary McQuie, ASA campaign coordinator. "I think it's incomprehensible ... what kind of priorities are these?"

Guards would not allow protesters or reporters inside the building and the DEA did not issue any statement about the protest.

Although California and local laws permit medicinal use, federal law still bans any and all cultivation, possession and use of marijuana. ASA representatives held rallies in 40 cities around the nation Tuesday in honor of Medical Marijuana Week.

"The DEA has been attacking medical marijuana use ... trying to keep people from getting their medicine," said protester Don Konechy. "The DEA needs to stop busting patients."

Protesters, dressed up as furniture movers and using a makeshift desk and boxed supplies, pretended to evict Assistant U.S. Attorney George Bevan.

Bevan, who recently prosecuted medical marijuana supplier Ed Rosenthal of Oakland, has prosecuted medical marijuana cases "without showing remorse," Konechy said.

Medical marijuana supporters sent cease-and-desist orders to the DEA office last year, but received no acknowledgment.

Charles Stevens, 70, of Berkeley said he has needed marijuana treatment since he was age 12. He said he will need to purchase it illegally if he is denied legal treatment.

"I'll just have to buy it undercover," he said. "They can't arrest me without arresting everyone else. The feds should do the right thing."

Angel McClary of Oakland has filed a civil lawsuit against the DEA and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, requesting an injunction so marijuana can be grown and used for medicinal purposes without being confiscated by the government.

"I feel strongly that I'm not a criminal," McClary said. "I'm very angry my government would come and try to take my life from me when my doctor says I need it."

McClary says she suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, a life-threatening wasting syndrome, a seizure disorder and several chronic pain conditions.

She said she could lose a pound a day if she is not treated with cannabis. "I could die," she said.

OTTAWA --The country is going to pot.

According to an SES/Sun Media poll, 69% of Canadians favour the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The survey found that Canadians who were teenagers during the "flower power" sixties were the group most likely to support easing our pot laws.

Among age groups, it showed that 76% of Canadians between the ages of 50 and 59 support decriminalization while 72% of the 40 to 49 age group agree the laws against smoking dope should be relaxed.

The poll surveyed 1000 people between Feb. 2 and Feb. 11. The poll is accurate plus or minus 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

There was strong support for decriminalization in every region. Only 25% of those responding to the survey opposed our marijuana possession laws going up in smoke.

"The opinions of Canadians may have been influenced by numerous media stories related to the therapeutic use of marijuana for cancer patients," said SES President Nik Nanos.

Liberal, Tory and Alliance MPs say pot shouldn't be considered a harmless recreational drug even though a Senate committee last fall recommended legalizing the smoking of pot for anybody older than 16.

Doing so would make Canada one of the most cannabis-friendly nations in the world. The committee called the present criminal laws on possession of weed outdated.

At the time, the Canadian Police Association lashed out at the recommendation, calling it "a back-to-school gift for drug pushers."

Justice Minister Martin Cauchon doesn't plan to make the drug legal but favours a fine instead of a prison sentence for the possession of 30 grams of weed for personal use.

The California Supreme Court decided Thursday that the state's medical marijuana law can be used as a defense against criminal charges but does not insulate people from prosecution.

The ruling, which left substantial areas unclear, left law enforcement officials free to arrest patients or caregivers who they believe are growing more pot than required for specified medical needs.

But the court's ruling said defendants are likewise free to invoke the Compassionate Use Act both before and during trial.

The 1996 act decriminalizes possession and cultivation of marijuana for patients and their primary caregivers who use or dispense the drug on the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. It does not set out acceptable amounts.

Thursday's ruling marks the first time California's highest court has addressed Proposition 215, the controversial initiative that runs counter to the federal government's zero-tolerance policy.

The case overturns the 1997 felony conviction of blind diabetic Myron Mower of Twain Harte, in Tuolumne County, who was arrested after police spotted 31 marijuana plants growing in his front yard. Mower was using the marijuana after his doctor suggested it to treat nausea and weight loss.

The decision comes as federal drug agents crack down on medical marijuana in states where it's legal for patients who have doctors' authorization to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Gerald Uelmen, a Santa Clara University School of Law professor, said the decision will reduce prosecutions throughout the state.

"It's a wonderful victory for patients," said Uelmen, who argued the case for Mower.

The lengthy unanimous opinion acknowledges a footnote in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that held that there is no "medical necessity" defense under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which bans the manufacture and distribution of various drugs, including marijuana.

"The court's holding, which involves the interpretation of federal law, has no bearing on the questions before us, which involve state law alone," Thursday's opinion states.

The California court ducked the issue of how much marijuana is appropriate for personal medical use, declining to establish a standard that would apply in all 58 counties. Locally imposed limits on the number of plants allowed range from three to 99.

The unanimous opinion was written by Chief Justice Ronald M. George. Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvin R. Baxter recused himself due to a conflict.

The court ordered a retrial for Mower, ruling that the Tuolumne County jury in his case had been given erroneous instructions by the trial judge on the burden of proof required for conviction.

Superior Court Judge Eric L. Du Temple had told jury members that it was up to Mower to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his 31 plants were within personal use guidelines. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the California Evidence Code requires that a defendant in a case such as this merely has to "raise a reasonable doubt as to that fact."

Attorney General Bill Lockyer said Thursday in a statement that the decision "changes the standard jury instruction that has been employed ... throughout California, (but) it is unclear what impact it will have on previous medical marijuana convictions."

Uelmen said the court's opinion does two things.

"It confirms a right to litigate the issue of medical necessity prior to trial," and, in cases that reach trial, "it reduces the burden of proof" on the defendant, he said.

Uelmen said the court's decision also equates the possession of marijuana for genuine medical reasons to the possession of prescription drugs.

That means "marijuana plants in the possession of a seriously ill person should be treated the same as a bottle of pills," Uelmen said.

Lockyer, whose office prosecuted the case, applauded the decision.

"As a supporter of Proposition 215, I believe that the court's decision strikes an appropriate balance in helping to ensure that truly needy patients whose doctors have recommended medical marijuana to alleviate pain and suffering related to serious illnesses will have access to this medicine under California law," he said in a written statement

J. Tony Serra, a San Francisco criminal defense lawyer whose firm defends many marijuana prosecutions, predicted "fewer arrests and many more cases thrown out before trial." He said he expects other states to follow the lead of California, the first state to legalize the drug for medical purposes.

Uelmen said he was disappointed that the court declined to address the issue of acceptable amounts of medicinal pot.

"This is a state law that demands a statewide standard, but we will have to wait for another day," he said.

Ideally, he said, Lockyer and Gov. Gray Davis would step up and establish the guidelines.

"But," he added, "it probably won't happen."

The Legislature passed a law-enforcement-backed bill, SB 187, to set statewide standards and procedures for Proposition 215. But the measure died when Davis warned against sending it to him. A Davis press aide said last month that the governor was still studying medical pot.

Davis could not be reached for comment on the court's ruling Thursday evening.

The court found Mower to be a legitimate marijuana patient as defined in the state law, but the projected size of his harvest was hotly disputed.

Mower's expert witness testified the 31 plants probably would yield a year's supply of 4.35 pounds, well below the 6 pounds the federal government provides annually to patients in its Investigational New Drug program.

The prosecution's expert testified the plants would yield between 31 and 62 pounds.

Mower "unquestionably was a patient -- an 'extremely' ill patient who suffered from 'diabetes and all its complications,' " the opinion says. It says he grew and used marijuana at the direction of a physician.

The only question is whether the crop went solely for his own medical purposes.

"Had the jury properly been instructed that (the) defendant was required merely to raise a reasonable doubt about his purposes ... it might have found him not guilty," the opinion says.

About the Writer:

The Bee's Denny Walsh can be reached at (916) 321-1189. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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