Pot and pain

[Guest guest]

?

>>>> I Have no idea how old this article is, I found it at a peripheral

neuropathy forum.

Federal judge clears way for Oakland club to distribute pot to seriously ill

patients

By CHRISTINE HANLEY

Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal judge has cleared the way for an

Oakland club to distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes, saying the

government hasn't proven why seriously ill patients should be denied the

drug.

The groundbreaking decision will allow the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'

ative to provide cannabis to members who face imminent harm

from a serious medical condition and have found that legal alternatives to

marijuana don't work or cause intolerable side effects.

" We believe this is the tip of the iceberg, " said Entwhistle, a

spokesman for Californians for Compassionate Use, the lobbying group

that wrote the state's medical marijuana initiative, known as Proposition

215. " We think at least the feds are starting to recognize the strength

and reality of the medical necessity of using marijuana as medicine, at

least for certain conditions. "

Justice Department spokeswoman Gretchen said officials were

reviewing the decision by U.S. District Court R. Breyer. She had

no further comment.

Breyer hinted during a hearing Friday that he would modify an injunction

he issued in 1998, noting that the U.S. 9th District Court of Appeal

ordered him to consider an exemption for patients who face imminent

harm and have no effective legal alternative to marijuana.

The appellate court, in its September ruling, found the government had

failed to rebut evidence that cannabis is the only effective treatment for

a large group of seriously ill patients.

So in lieu of any new arguments showing why it would not be in the

public's interest to exempt some patients from federal narcotics laws,

Breyer said he had little other choice.

" The government continues to press arguments which the 9th Circuit

rejected, including the argument that the court must find that enjoining

the distribution of cannabis to seriously ill individuals is in the public

interest because Congress has prohibited such conduct in favor of the

administrative process regulating the approval and distribution of drugs.

" As a result of the government's failure to offer any new evidence in

opposition to defendants' motion, and in light of the 9th Circuit's opinion,

the court must conclude that modifying the injunction as requested is in

the public interest and exercise its equitable discretion to do so, " Breyer

wrote.

Specifically, club members receiving medical marijuana must meet the

following criteria:

--Suffer from a serious medical condition

--Face " imminent harm " if they do not have access to cannabis.

--Need cannabis for treatment of a medical condition or to alleviate

symptoms associated with a condition.

--Have no reasonable legal alternative to cannabis for the effective

treatment or alleviation of a medical condition or symptoms.

The victory for the Oakland club is only the latest development in a

years-old conflict between federal narcotics regulations and Proposition

215, which has been tangled up in court since California voters approved

it in 1996.

The state initiative allows seriously ill patients to grow and use marijuana

for pain relief, with a doctor's recommendation, without being prosecuted

under state law. But federal law says marijuana has no medical purpose

and cannot be administered safely under medical supervision.

The Justice Department initially sued the Oakland club and five others in

Northern California to try and shut them down. Breyer's modification

partially exempts the Oakland club -- the only one to appeal -- from his

injunction that shut them down.

Measures similar to the California's initiative have passed in Alaska,

Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state, and

Entwhistle said Breyer's ruling is the latest sign that the federal

government's position is weakening.

" They used to be the wolf at the door. But now they've been pushed

away, " he said, adding that his group expects the issue to be ultimately

decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

" This is the beginning of something very big. It recognizes something we

knew all along, " he said. " We believe the Supreme Court justices, and

anybody in federal court, will see the truth behind the use of marijuana.

This drug saves lives. "

In Oakland, the news was met with equal optimism at the Cannabis Club.

" It's an historic day, " said , the owner and lead defendant in

the lawsuit. " For the first time in our nation's history, the Controlled

Substance Act ... has been pierced in a way that allows a controlled

substance to be given out in a federally exempt way. "

I think it should be made available in all states for medical use. ~>Becky M.