Medical
Marijuana:
Loss
in
WA
Supreme
Court,
Activist
Arrested
in
LA,
Wheelchair
Caravan
Planned
for
Northeast
8/1/97
Long-time medical marijuana activist and bone cancer sufferer Todd McCormick was arrested at his Los Angeles home on Tuesday 7/29. McCormick, according to NORML Foundation Exec. Dir. Alan St. Pierre, is "a man of great courage and greater compassion." McCormick was released on Thursday morning on $100,000 bail. For the full story of the arrest and release, including a testimonial to McCormick by Medical Marijuana Magazine publisher Peter McWilliams, see the Magazine at http://www.marijuanamagazine.com. DRCNet doesn't have enough information on this case yet to recommend a course of action, but we felt it was important for people to have the information that is available. Thanks to the NORML Foundation for the heads up on this story. You can find NORML online at http://www.natlnorml.org or e-mail the foundation at [email protected]. In related news, Peter McWilliams' own trial has been postponed for 60 days due to the abrupt decision, two days before the trial's scheduled date, by Wayne County Prosecutors to go ahead with the trial despite all indications that they would not be pushing forward with the prosecution. McWilliams' story can also be found at the Medical Marijuana Magazine site. Supreme Outrage in the State of WashingtonIn Washington state, the Supreme Court rejected the claim of bone cancer sufferer Ralph Seeley that his constitutional rights were violated by state laws which allow his doctor to prescribe narcotics but not marijuana to relieve his suffering. The 8-1 decision stated that the government's authority to protect its citizens outweighs a cancer patient's desire to relieve his pain. The Supreme Court's decision overturns a lower courts earlier decision that had been in Seeley's favor. The latest court documents and additional information on the case are available online at http://www.hemp.net/seeley/. Medical Marijuana Patients Get Ready to RollDRCNet has been informed that beginning September 20, 1997 a "Wheelchair Crusade" will travel 450 miles, making appearances and conducting teach-ins in support of the medical availability of marijuana. Wheelchair-bound and other patients who use marijuana medicinally will leave from Boston and travel through Amherst, New Haven, New York, New Hope, Philadelphia and Washington before reaching their final destination, the offices of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in Rockville, MD on October 30. Both volunteers and contributions are needed. DRCNet would note that events such as this are an important way to connect the current controversy with the real live patients who are risking arrest and imprisonment by virtue of their personal medical decisions. We expect this event to draw substantial media coverage. DRCNet will keep you up to date as the "Crusade" draws near. For more information, or to find out how you can help, call: (617) 491-8971 Boston
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