Pubdate: Wed, 17 Oct 2012
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/submissions/#1
Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Dan Freedman

Marijuana

ADVOCATES ARGUE IN FEDERAL COURT FOR MEDICINAL POT

WASHINGTON - Marijuana supporters told a federal appeals court panel 
Tuesday that government agencies have created a "self-fulfilling 
prophecy" by keeping cannabis illegal despite evidence that using it 
can be medically beneficial.

Marijuana activists are seeking to "reschedule" marijuana as a drug 
suitable for medical use and thus remove it from Schedule I of the 
government's drug classification system, reserved for drugs with high 
abuse potential.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Health and 
Human Services say marijuana has no medical use, is as dangerous as 
ecstasy and heroin, and has even more abuse potential than cocaine.

The case now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit 
has the potential to grow into a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme 
Court on whether marijuana has medical value.

For marijuana backers, it could be an uphill climb. In 2005, the 
court ruled that DEA agents could enforce federal drug laws against 
Angel Raich, an Oakland mother who used locally grown marijuana under 
California's voter-approved Compassionate Use Act of 1996 to ease 
pain from a brain tumor and other ailments.

"This is going to be an historic case," said Steve DeAngelo, founder 
and executive director of Harborside Health Center in Oakland, who 
attended the oral arguments.

The case before the three judge panel Tuesday dates back to 2002, 
when marijuana supporters filed a rescheduling petition with the FDA 
and DEA. The DEA has long said marijuana should remain a banned drug 
under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

Under DEA's drug schedule, "patients are denied the medicine they 
need for fear of federal prosecution," said Joseph Elford, 
representing Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland organization that 
brought the suit at issue Tuesday.

Elford pointed to a 1999 Institute of Medicine study that concluded 
marijuana has value for pain relief, nausea and appetite stimulation.

DEA spokesman Rusty Payne declined to comment with the case in litigation.
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