Cancer patient and medical marijuana activist Ralph Seeley will argue before the state Supreme Court on September 25 that the state’s constitution requires marijuana to be available as a prescription substance.
In 1995, Seeley won a declaratory judgment from trial court Judge Rosanne Buckner that Washington’s ban on medical marijuana violates the state’s constitution’s reliance on “fundamental principles.” Under guidelines agreed upon by both Seeley and the state Attorney General’s Office before the trial, the losing party would seek a direct review of the decision in the state Supreme Court.
An amicus brief in support of medical marijuana, prepared by Attorney Michael Cutler of Boston, Massachusetts, has been filed by NORML’s Amicus Curiae Committee. Additional briefs on behalf of Seeley have been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and The Drug Policy Foundation (DPF). “A positive verdict in this case would further bolster the growing public support for access to medical marijuana both in Washington state and nationally,” said NORML Deputy Director Allen St.Pierre. St. Pierre noted that on March 30, 1996, Washington State Governor Mike Lowry signed into law a state budget allocating $130,000 to medicinal marijuana research, including investigating ways of cultivating marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes.
For more information, please contact Attorney Michael Cutler of NORML’s Amicus Curiae Committee at (617) 439-4990.