Judge Reverses Ban on Pot as Medicine

In a reversal of his own 1998 order, a federal judge ruled on Monday that an Oakland medicinal marijuana club can dispense the drug to seriously ill patients.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer came only two days after San Francisco announced it will allow sick people with doctors’ notes access to marijuana through an identification card system used in at least two other Northern California counties.

Advocates hailed both developments as a breakthrough for the cause of medicinal marijuana. “I’m glad to see that the judicial branch of government finally recognizes what the people in California and every other state already know--that patients should be able to have access to the medicine they need,” said Robert Raich, an attorney representing the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative.

Breyer’s five-page ruling is the latest development in a complex legal battle between marijuana advocates and enforcers of strict federal drug laws.

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215 to permit a sick person to obtain marijuana under a doctor’s care. Similar measures have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.

But federal prosecutors stepped in and closed down six cannabis buyers’ clubs in Northern California, saying the drug is still illegal under U.S. law. When the Oakland club refused to close, Breyer held advocates there in contempt and ordered the facility forcibly shut down. The club appealed the injunction but Breyer denied the motion.

Last September, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Breyer had denied the appeal “without weighing or considering the public interest.”

Breyer has since said he should have considered the needs of patients who have no legal alternative to the drug. In his ruling Monday, Breyer said the federal government “has still not offered any evidence to rebut defendants’ evidence that cannabis is medically necessarily for a group of seriously ill individuals.”

A spokesman for the Justice Department did not return calls on Monday. But Clinton administration officials have said they are considering appealing the 9th Circuit’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, they say, anyone caught using marijuana for any reason is still subject to federal charges, regardless of local laws--a strategy that angers marijuana advocates.

“The federal government is fighting an unwinnable war on drugs, using patients as pawns,” said Raich, adding that, in light of Monday’s ruling, the Oakland cannabis club would begin dispensing the drug as soon as possible.

So far, state legislators have steered clear of the issue, backing away from a proposal for a statewide cardholder system that would allow registered medical marijuana users, providers and growers to avoid arrest.

Defying federal authorities, San Francisco has become the nation’s largest city to allow sick people access to pot. The announcement of the ID card system Friday by maverick Dist. Atty. Terence Hallinan follows similar moves by officials in Santa Cruz, Arcata and Mendocino County.

“This law is tailor-made for San Francisco,” said Hallinan. “Proposition 215 passed by an 80% margin and everyone here knows somebody suffering from cancer or AIDS who has said that ‘smoking marijuana has saved my life.’ ”

He added: “It’s becoming more and more clear that this drug gives relief to people with AIDS. It boosts their appetites, makes them able to better cope with the disease. This program is the right thing to do.”

The new ID program has yet to address how those in need will obtain the drug, but the San Francisco health department began issuing the ID cards last week.

The cards, each of which bears only a name and an identification number, shields holders from arrest by certifying that a bearer has a medical reason to use marijuana. Doctors sign a form agreeing to monitor the patient’s medical condition. The cards are good for as long as two years.

Several district attorneys throughout California on Monday said San Francisco’s move would have no influence on their policy against condoning any marijuana use.

“We look at the law quite differently than the people in San Francisco and don’t believe the government should give its stamp of approval for individual possession of marijuana,” said Robin Shakely, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento County district attorney.

She said the doctor’s note system is fraught with potential problems.

“We’re just not willing to take any doctor’s excuse at face value,” Shakely said. “We’ve found that too many doctors will make frivolous recommendations for medical marijuana based on little or no medical exam. And these doctors particularly come out of the Bay Area.”