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Torkel
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 1396
Location: West Virginia, USA
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 Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 4:52 pm Post subject: Supreme Court Rules Feds Can Arrest State-Recognized Medical |
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Supreme Court Rules Feds Can Arrest State-Recognized Medical Cannabis Patients
State Laws Authorizing Physician-Supervised Use Of Marijuana Unaffected By Ruling
Washington, DC: The US Supreme Court today reversed a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which found that the federal prosecution of patients who cultivate and possess marijuana for their own medicinal use is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress' Commerce Clause authority. As a result, the court struck down an injunction barring the Justice Department from arresting the respondents -- California medical cannabis patients Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson -- for violating the federal Controlled Substances Act. Ms. Raich and Ms. Monson had filed suit in federal court in 2002 seeking to bar the US Justice Department from taking legal action against them for their state-sanctioned use of medicinal cannabis.
"While we are disappointed with the Court's decision, the bottom line is that state and local laws protecting medicinal cannabis patients and their physicians remain in place and are unaffected by this ruling," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. Eleven states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- have passed laws exempting patients who use cannabis under a physician's supervision from state criminal penalties.
"With this ruling, Congress and the Justice Department have a choice: They can choose to waste taxpayers' dollars and undermine states' rights by arresting and prosecuting seriously ill patients who possess and use medical cannabis in compliance with state law, or they can choose more worthwhile priorities, like protecting national security and targeting violent criminals," St. Pierre said. He added that Congress is expected to vote later this month on a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Reps. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that would prohibit the federal government from spending taxpayers' dollars to prosecute patients who comply with their state's medical marijuana laws. Also pending in Congress is House Bill HR 2087, "the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act," sponsored by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA), Ron Paul (R-TX), Sam Farr (D-CA), Rohrabacher, and Hinchey, along with 31 co-sponsors, which would reclassify marijuana under federal law to properly recognize its medical utility and enable physicians to legally prescribe it under controlled circumstances.
"The Court's decision today underscores the need for Congress to amend federal law to recognize cannabis' therapeutic utility," St. Pierre said." Throughout our history, the public has looked to state legislatures and Congress -- not the courts -- to be the architects of public policy. With 80 percent of Americans as well as numerous health organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the American Public Health Association, in favor of legalizing the physician-supervised use of medicinal cannabis, it's time for the federal government to butt out of doctors' decisions regarding which medicine is the most safe and effective for their patients."
Respondents co-counsel, NORML Legal Committee member David Michael agreed. "This decision is a great leap backwards by the Supreme Court, in eroding the Rehnquist Court’s Commerce Clause legacy and creating chaos by pitting the Federal Government against its own citizens and their individual states," he said. "Where the Supreme Court has failed, it is now up to Congress to protect the citizens of this country and their states from an overreaching federal government." |
Source: I copied this from NORML's website.
This is fucking INSANE!!
Torkel
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Miller vs U.S. (230 F 2nd 486,489): "The claim and exercise of a Constitutional right cannot be converted into a crime."
Miranda vs Arizona (384 U.S. 436, 125): "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no rule-making or legislation which would abrogate them."
HAGANS vs LAVINE (415 US 533 N-3,note 5): "Once JURISDICTION is challenged it must be proven by the Plaintiff." |
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Fyrefly1
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 07 Sep 2004
Posts: 2209
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| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2005 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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| This is fucking INSANE!! |
Who said the Bush admin was 'sane'...
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Fyrefly1
"All truth passes through three stages: first it is ridiculed, second it is violently opposed, and third it is accepted as self-evident."
Arthur Schopenhauer, 19th Century Philosopher |
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Rev.Holden Greene
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 482
Location: us
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:54 am Post subject: i cant believe it |
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from rob kampia
Dear MPP supporter:
In an historic decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 - 3 that the federal government can continue arresting patients who are using medical marijuana legally under state law. However, the decision did not overturn the medical marijuana laws in 10 states, which still protect patients from arrest by state and local police.
The Marijuana Policy Project's grants program provided the majority of the funding for this litigation, which is only the second medical marijuana case ever to reach the Supreme Court.
TAKE ACTION
Now that the Court has ruled, we need you to spring into action. Please click here to send a free fax or e-mail to your U.S. representative to ask him or her to protect medical marijuana patients, since the ball is now in Congress' court. In fact, a medical marijuana amendment is scheduled to come to the House floor for a vote next week. Our goal is to send 10,000 letters to Congress by the time of the vote, but we won't be able to achieve that goal without your help.
Then, please visit www.RaichAction.org to participate in a demonstration outside of your U.S. representative's local district office at noon on Wednesday, June 8.
BACKGROUND
In its ruling in Ashcroft v. Raich ,the Supreme Court said that Congress — not the Court — must be the institution to change federal law to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said that there are other legal options for patients, "but perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress."
By stressing the need for plaintiffs to use the democratic process, the Supreme Court has clearly put the ball in Congress' court. This makes next week's vote in the U.S. House of Representatives all the more significant.
STATE LAWS UNAFFECTED
The ruling does not affect states' ability to pass new medical marijuana laws; states are free to continue enacting laws that protect medical marijuana patients and their providers from arrest and prosecution by state and local law enforcement officials.
What the Supreme Court has done is continue the status quo: Patients in the 10 states with medical marijuana laws are protected under state law but will continue to risk prosecution under federal law. In other words, the Court's decision means that nothing has changed. Click here for more background on the case.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO PROTECT PATIENTS!
Since it's now clear that patients cannot count on the federal courts for protection, we must push harder than ever for Congress to change federal law.
We need you to lobby Congress to end the federal government's attacks on medical marijuana patients and caregivers. Please visit www.RaichAction.org to learn how you can help pressure Congress to protect medical marijuana patients.
Then — if you agree that sick and suffering patients should not have to live in fear of armed federal agents breaking down the patients' doors to take away their medicine — please ensure that MPP has the necessary funds to push hard this week and next for Congress to pass an amendment that would prevent the DEA from arresting medical marijuana patients or providers who are acting legally under state law.
Thank you,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
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"look...the people you are looking for are the people you depend on.we cook your meals , we haul your trash ,we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances,we guard you while you sleep"
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Rev.Holden Greene
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Posts: 482
Location: us
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:55 am Post subject: |
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Vote here
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8118359/
Should the federal government prosecute medical marijuana users, now that it has been given the OK by the Supreme Court? * 66891 responses
Yes
10%
No
88%
I'm not sure
2%
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"look...the people you are looking for are the people you depend on.we cook your meals , we haul your trash ,we connect your calls, we drive your ambulances,we guard you while you sleep"
Tyler Durdan |
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Brother Adam
Cannabis Sacrament Minister
Joined: 04 Feb 2005
Posts: 1915
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| Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:14 am Post subject: |
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That poll just goes to show that the people have SPOKEN. OVER, and OVER, and OVER again, and they have been IGNORED. Worse yet, they have been written off with the simple stroke of a pen by men of power.
It's time for what the constitution of this great country calls "a redress of grievances"..............This begging for rights that our fathers DIED for is rediculous. |
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