Post by RS Davis on Oct 21, 2003 6:30:53 GMT -5
On October 14 medical marijuana advocates won a tremendous victory in the
highest court in the land.
The Supreme Court -- in a direct slap at current federal policy on medical
marijuana -- let stand a lower court's decision that upholds a doctor's
right to recommend the drug to patients.
This means that the federal government is still prohibited from threatening,
investigating, or punishing physicians who recommend, or even discuss,
medical marijuana use with their patients.
"By deciding not to hear this case, the Supreme Court has eliminated any
doubt that states have the right to protect medical marijuana patients under
state law, and that physicians have the right to give patients honest advice
and recommendations, whether the federal government approves or not," said
Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in
Washington, D.C.
Incredibly, both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush have
attempted to halt medical marijuana efforts by threatening to remove the
license of any doctor who even mentions medical marijuana to a patient. The
first attempt came from the Clinton administration in 1996, after California
voters passed a measure permitting medical marijuana. However,
pro-medical-freedom forces won court cases on this at both the district
court and appellate levels, winning a unanimous ruling in the 9thU.S.Circuit
Court of Appeals.
This year, Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft -- in yet another Ashcroftian
assault on liberty and essential Bill of Rights freedoms -- asked the
U.S.Supreme Court to review that 9thCircuit ruling, in hopes that the Court
would overturn the decision and give him this devastating tool to attack
medical marijuana efforts.
But Ashcroft has lost -- and his defeat is a major victory for liberty,
doctors, and many thousands of people suffering from serious illnesses.
(Source: Marijuana Policy Project:
www.mpp.org/releases/nr101403.html
highest court in the land.
The Supreme Court -- in a direct slap at current federal policy on medical
marijuana -- let stand a lower court's decision that upholds a doctor's
right to recommend the drug to patients.
This means that the federal government is still prohibited from threatening,
investigating, or punishing physicians who recommend, or even discuss,
medical marijuana use with their patients.
"By deciding not to hear this case, the Supreme Court has eliminated any
doubt that states have the right to protect medical marijuana patients under
state law, and that physicians have the right to give patients honest advice
and recommendations, whether the federal government approves or not," said
Robert Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in
Washington, D.C.
Incredibly, both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush have
attempted to halt medical marijuana efforts by threatening to remove the
license of any doctor who even mentions medical marijuana to a patient. The
first attempt came from the Clinton administration in 1996, after California
voters passed a measure permitting medical marijuana. However,
pro-medical-freedom forces won court cases on this at both the district
court and appellate levels, winning a unanimous ruling in the 9thU.S.Circuit
Court of Appeals.
This year, Bush Attorney General John Ashcroft -- in yet another Ashcroftian
assault on liberty and essential Bill of Rights freedoms -- asked the
U.S.Supreme Court to review that 9thCircuit ruling, in hopes that the Court
would overturn the decision and give him this devastating tool to attack
medical marijuana efforts.
But Ashcroft has lost -- and his defeat is a major victory for liberty,
doctors, and many thousands of people suffering from serious illnesses.
(Source: Marijuana Policy Project:
www.mpp.org/releases/nr101403.html
