Pubdate: Thu, 07 Jun 2001
Source: New Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 New Times
Contact:  http://www.newtimesslo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1277
Author: Ali Jordan-Arnold
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ocbc.htm (Oakland Cannabis Court Case)

SUPREME STUPIDITY

The Supreme Court's cannabis ruling is wrong  and so are the rumors 
surrounding it

As an herbalist, I want to show my support for cannabis as an important 
medicinal herb, and clarify a few points about the recent Supreme Court 
decision regarding the Oakland Cannabis Buyers club, and others like it.

Lots of misinformation is going around in the wake of this decision, often 
fueled by the press, which does not present the facts, but merely 
sensationalism.

Rumor Number 1: The Supreme Court decision repeals the Compassionate Use 
Act of California, which the voters resolved by choosing by a landslide 
Proposition 215 for the state of California. The Supreme Court of the 
United States cannot repeal a state law, they can only make judgments based 
on federal laws on a case by case basis.

Rumor Number 2: This Supreme Court decision will close down all cannabis 
buyers clubs in the state of California and other states. No, it 
effectively closes down the Oakland CBC, since that is the only case which 
was before the court, having appealed to the highest federal court on a 
specific charge.

Rumor Number 3: This decision means that the federal government and federal 
agencies can essentially override any laws enacted by the voters of any 
state, no matter that  the voting state residents clearly by majority don't 
want that to happen. No, according to the constitution of the United 
States, the state themselves are sovereign nations, if you will, and the 
Federal government is in place only to serve them, not the other way around.

Rumor Number 4: You can't fight the Feds; they always get what they want. 
No, the war is not over. The Federal government does not  have the right, 
whether or not its agents believe they do, to establish martial law 
regarding a state health and safety code, when there is no clear and 
present danger to the citizens themselves.

This is a health and safety code, not felony murder, rape or, kidnapping. 
In fact, the Federal government is responsible for imprisoning sick and 
dying patients, who only want to have their pain alleviated and their lives 
extended.

There are several fundamental issues at stake here.

One is the individual's right to take care of themselves and their own 
bodies with the assistance of their physician. Another is the individual's 
right to grow and use a medicinal herb which has brought healing and relief 
to a multitude of documented conditions.

The individual has the God-given right to grow whatever plants they want on 
the premises of the home and property. In my garden, I grow herbs like 
lavender and fever few for headaches; rosemary, sage, parsley, and other 
culinary herbs for cooking; and honeysuckle and jasmine for their fragrance 
and medicinal uses.

Cannabis is a medicinal herb like any other, and it has been documented to 
alleviate the suffering of conditions such as migraine, asthma, epilepsy, 
the AIDS wasting syndrome, chronic neurological pain, clinical depression, 
anxiety disorders, and many more.

We, as citizens needs to stand up and be heard on a continual basis, to 
guard ourselves against the very things that authors of the Constitution 
had the foresight to specify and purposely separated the three branches of 
government to keep each other in check.

This does not take away our own personal responsibility to hold our 
government accountable for protecting our rights, not abusing or taking 
them away.

Ali Jordan-Arnold lives in Morro Bay.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D