The United States Justice Department filed a petition of certiorari last Friday asking the Supreme Court to review a Sept. 19, 1999 decision of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, allowing the distribution of marijuana to patients who qualify for a medical necessity defense. The U.S. also filed for an emergency order from the 9th Circuit staying District Judge Charles Breyer’s July 17th ruling allowing the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative to resume distribution to qualified patients, pending a review by the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department stated the appeals court decision was “directly at odds with Congress’ express finding that marijuana has no currently accepted use.”
The Supreme Court will not decide whether to review the case until the new term of the Court begins in October.
“It is disappointing that the federal government is trying to prevent patients in need from having access to the medicine they require,” said Robert Raich, Esq., the OCBC attorney.
“It’s especially ironic that our government uses every legal appeal possible to continue to deny marijuana as a medicine to those who need it, while the courts in Canada are saying, ‘either exempt medical users or we’ll throw out the entire law,'” said Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director.
For more information, please contact Robert Raich, Esq., at (510) 338-0700 or Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500.
