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Newsbrief:
US
Circuit
Denies
Federal
Appeal
in
Medical
Marijuana
Case
2/27/04
If the US Justice Department
wants to be able to harass medical marijuana patients in the Western United
States, it will have to seek a victory at the Supreme Court. The
US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday denied the government's motion
to rehear Raich v. Ashcroft. In December, a three-judge panel of
the court ruled in the case that the federal government could not use the
Controlled Substances Act to move against medical marijuana patients if
those patients were not engaged in interstate commerce in marijuana.
"The intrastate, noncommercial
cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for personal medical purposes
on the advice of a physician is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking,"
Judge Harry Pregerson wrote for the majority in December. "This limited
use is clearly distinct from the broader illicit drug market, as well as
any broader commercial market for medical marijuana, insofar as the medical
marijuana at issue in this case is not intended for, nor does it enter,
the stream of commerce."
Now, in a unanimous decision,
the entire 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the Justice Department's
request to undo the decision of its three-judge panel. Separately,
the court also turned down DOJ's request for a rehearing by that three-judge
panel.
The only recourse left for
the Ashcroft Justice Department is to seek a favorable ruling from the
Supreme Court. It has 90 days to file a petition for the court to
hear its appeal. Justice has not announced whether it will ask the
nation's highest court to intervene.
-- END --
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Issue #326, 2/27/04
Editorial: Needless Danger |
Nevada Voters to Get Second Chance to Legalize Marijuana |
New York: Medical Marijuana on the Move in Albany and NYC |
South Dakota "Internal Possession" Drug Law Upheld |
Newsbrief: US 9th Circuit Denies Federal Appeal in Medical Marijuana Case |
Newsbrief: Campaign Watch -- Nader on Drugs |
Newsbrief: Utah Federal Judge Questions Mandatory Minimums |
Newsbrief: South Carolina Urine Felon Jailed for Six Months |
Newsbrief: Psychedelic Pioneer Humphry Osmond Dead at 86 |
Newsbrief: California Narcs Kill Wrong Man |
Newsbrief: Hempster Becomes Local Hero in Icy Pond Rescue |
This Week in History |
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