Government continues to resist
Calif.�s marijuana law
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 4 - The Department of
Justice on Thursday pledged to continue resisting
California�s voter-approved medical marijuana
law, arguing the government has the right to
penalize doctors who recommend cannabis by
revoking their licenses to dispense medication.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT LAWYERS argued their
position in U.S. District Court here during what may be the
final stage of a lawsuit brought by the American Civil
Liberties Union.
The ACLU contends that the government�s position
violates doctors� free speech rights, and that many doctors
now resist recommending pot for fear of losing their federal
right to prescribe medication.
U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup was expected to
rule within weeks, lawyers said, and the ruling could have
broad implications for several states with similar laws.
Measures similar to California�s Proposition 215, which
voters passed in 1996, have passed in Alaska, Arizona,
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.
Department of Justice lawyer Joseph W. Lobue told the
judge that the government doesn�t care whether California
voters approved the Compassionate Use Act, which allows
patients to grow and possess marijuana for medical use with
a doctor�s recommendation.
�It doesn�t matter what California says,� Lobue argued.
Arguing that federal law applies to the country no matter
how states may have voted, Lobue said the government
would take the same position �in Oklahoma if they had that
law.�
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has urged
Attorney General Janet Reno to ease the federal
government�s resistance to California�s attempts to
implement its initiative.
�The voters in my state have endorsed the medicinal use
of marijuana,� Lockyer wrote to Reno in October.
� 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Wingate
Anomalous Images and UFO Files
http://www.anomalous-images.com
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
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