Washington, DC: The US Department of Justice announced this week that it will not appeal a 2004 US District Court ruling striking down a Congressional ban on the display of pro-drug law reform advertisements in public transit systems. The 2004 ruling held that the law, which sought to withhold federal funds from any transit agency that “is involved directly or indirectly in any activity … that promotes the legalization or medical use” of marijuana or other drugs, unconstitutionally infringes upon free speech.
US Solicitor General Paul Clement wrote in a letter to Congress, “The government does not have a viable argument to advance in the statute’s defense and will not appeal the district court’s decision holding the provision as currently drafted [is] unconstitutional.”
NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said the Justice Department acted reasonably in refusing to defend the ban, but rebuked “those in Congress who supported such a blatantly unconstitutional law in their zeal to stifle any legitimate debate regarding America’s misguided drug policies.”
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500.