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Plainsman1963

Dying woman loses marijuana appeal
03.14.07|houston chronicle|DAVID KRAVETS

SAN FRANCISCO — A woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive can face federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The ruling was the latest legal defeat for Angel Raich, a mother of two from Oakland suffering from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments who sued the federal government pre-emptively to avoid being arrested for using the drug. On her doctor's advice, Raich eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster her appetite.

The latest legal twist once again highlighted the conflict between the federal government, which declares marijuana an illegal controlled substance with no medical value, and the 11 states allowing medical marijuana for patients with a doctor's recommendation.

The Supreme Court ruled against Raich two years ago, saying medical marijuana users and their suppliers could be prosecuted for breaching federal drug laws even if they lived in a state such as California where medical pot is legal.

Because of that ruling, the issue before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was narrowed to the so-called right to life theory: that the gravely ill have a right to marijuana to keep them alive when legal drugs fail.

Raich, 41, began sobbing when she was told of the decision that she was not immune to prosecution and said she would continue using the drug.

"I'm sure not going to let them kill me," she said. "Oh, my God."

The three-judge appeals panel said that the United States has not yet reached the point where "the right to use medical marijuana is 'fundamental' and 'implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.'"

However, the court left open the possibility that Raich, if she was arrested and prosecuted, might be able to argue that she possessed marijuana as a last resort to stay alive, in what is known as a "medical necessity defense."

"I have to get myself busted in order to try to save my life," Raich said.

One of her physicians, Frank Lucido, said in an interview last year that Raich would "probably be dead without marijuana." Lucido, of Berkeley, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Leaders in the medical marijuana movement said they would continue fighting.

"This is literally a matter of life and death for Angel and thousands of other patients, and we will keep fighting on both the legal and political fronts until every patient is safe," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project.

New Mexico is poised to become the 12th state to allow medical marijuana under a bill lawmakers approved Wednesday. Gov. Bill Richardson, a strong supporter of the measure, is expected to sign it.

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"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

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xxdr_zombiexx

I posted it at Daily Kos.

Medical Marijuana, The Feds and the Banality of Evil.Click the link above to read the whole thing and see comments and links.

It did not make the recommended list this time around, bur another one did, which is good. Every time a cannabis post gets into the rec list a lot of people get to see it. With cannabis themes in the titles, a lot of people see the message. They have to look at it.

My humble entry achieved a few comments, 80-some recommendations and got included in the "diary rescue" bit that's done on Kos in the evening - highlighting "entries of merit" that didn't make the rec list.Keep in mind that Daily Kos is a seriously influential site. These are the folks who should be reading all the LTE's people generate.

Some of them get it - a lot of them don't.

Yet.

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Alien Space Signal

There's no money for your issue so long as we're squandering $50 billion a year on the DrugWar. Ben Masel

Fear became the ultimate tool of this government - V.

Buzzby

When are they going to learn that making life more difficult for terminally ill people creates more support for medical marijuana than anything those of us who favor it could do? I scan the news every day for marijuana-related stories. Every one I've read concerning the denial of medical marijuana for Angel Raich has been supportive of her and negative towards the heartless bastards making war on the sick and dying.

When are they going to figure out that they can't win? Almost 80% of Americans surveyed support medical marijuana. How long can the ideologues who run our government ignore that a super-majority of voters want sick people to have access to their medicine?

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sterbo

As long as we keep voting for them...

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SirSmokaALot

Haha like i'd vote for heartless people into the system so they can screw us over. I dont think so.

 

sterbo

Well then, give us all an of who you'd vote for...

SirSmokaALot

Theres nobody good enough to vote for because they all sound like bunch of zombies filled with lies in their skulls.

Its sad how many average people actually have been brainwashed with the "lies" in this damn world.