Health News
2007-03-16
Court upholds ban
on medical marijuana
A California
woman with an inoperable brain tumor may not smoke marijuana
to ease her pain even though California voters have approved
A California
woman with an inoperable brain tumor may not smoke marijuana
to ease her pain even though California voters have approved
its medicinal use, a U.S. appeals court ruled on
Wednesday.
In a much-watched
test case, the 9th U.S. circuit court of appeals found
there is no fundamental right to marijuana for medical
purposes. The ruling agreed with a 2005 U.S. Supreme
Court decision.
The split
three-judge opinion from Judge Harry Pregerson expressed
sympathy for some arguments by plaintiff Angel Raich, 41, an
Oakland resident whose doctor testified she could die
if she stopped smoking pot. But the ruling backed the
1970 federal Controlled Substances Act barring
marijuana.
Raich, who
suffers from many ailments, says marijuana keeps her alive
by easing pain and bolstering appetite.
"Today I found
out I am basically a dead man walking," Raich, who
once worked as an accountant and massage therapist, told
Reuters. "Today the court said I don't have the
constitutional right to basically stay alive."
The mother of two
said U.S. officials had never moved to arrest her or
bar her from using marijuana and said she would continue to
do so every two hours. "I'm damned if I do, damned if
I don't," she said.
Raich said she
would lobby Congress in Washington to change U.S. law. The
court said use of the drug for medical purposes was gaining
support but federal law still banned it.
"We agree with
Raich that medical and conventional wisdom that
recognizes the use of marijuana for medical purposes is
gaining traction in the law as well," the judge wrote.
The ruling
acknowledged the law could change if legislators reconsider
the issue.
"Although that
day has not yet dawned, considering that during the
last 10 years 11 states have legalized the use of medical
marijuana, that day may be upon on us sooner than
expected," Pregerson said.
Voters in
California, the nation's most populous state, became the
first to approve medical marijuana in 1996, putting it
in direct conflict with federal law. Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger has admitting using marijuana in the
past. (Adam Tanner, Reuters)
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