Gov't Resists Calif. Marijuana Law
By DAVID KRAVETS
10:18 PM ET 08/03/00
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Department of Justice on Thursday
pledged to continue resisting California's voter-approved medical
marijuana law, arguing the government has the right to penalize
doctors who recommend cannabis by revoking their licenses to
dispense medication.
Justice department lawyers argued their position in U.S.
District Court here during what may be the final stage of a lawsuit
brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU contends that the government's position violates
doctors' free speech rights, and that many doctors now resist
recommending pot for fear of losing their federal right to
prescribe medication.
U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup was expected to rule
within weeks, lawyers said, and the ruling could have broad
implications for several states with similar laws.
Measures similar to California's Proposition 215, which voters
passed in 1996, have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.
Department of Justice lawyer Joseph W. Lobue told the judge that
the government doesn't care whether California voters approved the
Compassionate Use Act, which allows patients to grow and possess
marijuana for medical use with a doctor's recommendation.
``It doesn't matter what California says,'' Lobue argued. Arguing that federal law applies to the country no matter how
states may have voted, Lobue said the government would take the
same position ``in Oklahoma if they had that law.''
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has urged Attorney
General Janet Reno to ease the federal government's resistance to
California's attempts to implement its initiative.
``The voters in my state have endorsed the medicinal use of
marijuana,'' Lockyer wrote to Reno in October.
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