STORM2K

Supreme Court Outlaws Use Of Marijuana For Medical Reasons

POSTED: 10:24 am EDT June 6, 2005
UPDATED: 10:34 am EDT June 6, 2005

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court has ruled that federal officials can prosecute sick people who smoke marijuana under a doctor's orders.




Justices ruled state medical marijuana laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug.


The decision is a defeat for marijuana advocates who have gotten 10 states to allow the drug's use to treat illness.

The closely watched case was an appeal by the Bush administration in a California case that it lost in late 2003. At issue was whether the prosecution of medical marijuana users under the federal Controlled Substances Act was constitutional.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

YEAH! I would assume that doctor would be in a heap of trouble as well.

I'd always heard that medical marijuana helps some peeps in coping with illness like cancer, etc.

NEWeatherguy wrote::D YEAH! I would assume that doctor would be in a heap of trouble as well.

Oh no what am I ever to do now! LOL j/k

Making fun or saying it was a good decision tells me that some pople have no clue on why it is being used. People with cancer or painful diseases benefit from this use. What they (USSC) did was pretty much say deal with the pain...

If marijuana helps for certain medical conditions I don't see a problem with it. The government has a problem with marijuana but not morphine, oxycontin, etc. I just don't see the logic.

once again the courts ignore state law. ridiculous ruling

wxcrazytwo wrote:Making fun or saying it was a good decision tells me that some pople have no clue on why it is being used. People with cancer or painful diseases benefit from this use. What they (USSC) did was pretty much say deal with the pain...

Yep. That's pretty sad.

Yes, let's deprive the nauseated cancer patients who are riddled with pain of the little relief that they can get by smoking a joint and legally prescribe oxycontin for a toothache. It make no sense to me

Pburgh wrote:Yes, let's deprive the nauseated cancer patients who are riddled with pain of the little relief that they can get by smoking a joint and legally prescribe oxycontin for a toothache. It make no sense to me

That could very well have been me - didn't need chemo or radiation for my Stage 1 Cancer 6 years ago. But I've frequented plenty of medical message boards since and these do patients go thru you know what, while chemo is killing their cancer. It's a wonder they survive. Glad you can see it from this angle Karan. I especially relate to patients with lifelong pain from radiation, that was ~almost~ my case. Then my doctors decided they had clean margins, no treatment was necessary. Here I sit typing, 6 years later, so they must have been right.

Mary

The reason the gov is so againts MJ is because it can be grown at home thus avoiding taxes. The gov could care less about the plight of sick people all they want is the tax money......MGC

"While we are disappointed with the Court's decision, the bottom line is that state and local laws protecting medicinal cannabis patients and their physicians remain in place and are unaffected by this ruling," NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said. Eleven states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- have passed laws exempting patients who use cannabis under a physician's supervision from state criminal penalties.

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6550

drudd1 wrote:If marijuana helps for certain medical conditions I don't see a problem with it. The government has a problem with marijuana but not morphine, oxycontin, etc. I just don't see the logic.

Totally agreed. To me presciption painkillers getting out are much more of a problem to society than marijuana. Just look at the statistics and see how many overdoses there have been attributed to these drugs and then look at marijuana... If these poor cancer patients want to smoke a joint to ease their pain they should have every right to do so if their state law allows.

Welcome to a conservative-leaning supreme court. Hope you're having fun.

DoctorHurricane2003 wrote:Welcome to a conservative-leaning supreme court. Hope you're having fun.

Psst...don't make it political.

Can't make it political?? Well it is a political issue. It is states rights being taken away from them by the government. Also it is patients rights as well. A patients rights, along with a doctor to choose a course of action that will help them the best. In some cases medical marijuana helps better than strong pain killers that will leave you dopey and unable to function in the real world.

But that is all I will say on the matter. My two cents...

Agh! I pointed out another post that was political and my reply got deleted!

Blah! I give up!

Kelarie wrote:Can't make it political?? Well it is a political issue. It is states rights being taken away from them by the government. Also it is patients rights as well. A patients rights, along with a doctor to choose a course of action that will help them the best. In some cases medical marijuana helps better than strong pain killers that will leave you dopey and unable to function in the real world.

But that is all I will say on the matter. My two cents...

Agreed that it is a "political" issue. My point was not to make it conservatives v. liberals -- that opens up a whole other can of worms for a debate here (and for mudslinging). The sides can be argued without turning into the usual

The vote was 6-3. The three who dissented were (supported medical MJ Laws in the States) were O'Connor, Rehnquist and Thomas-hardly Justices with a professed Liberal political bias.

Steve

I want states to regain their rights so badly. That way if your lifestyle or medical decisions aren't supported in one place you might find a more friendly or accepting environment in another state. The federal government is a great burden. We might as well give up the fascade of states having any deal of sovereignty if they are nothing but lines in the sand.

As a libertarian I am ashamed of the supreme court and applaud the dissenting justices. We need to get back to the basics of the constitution, self determination, and limit this growing beast of a government.