Pubdate: Mon, 12 Jan 2015
Source: Herald Journal, The (UT)
Copyright: 2015 The Herald Journal
Contact:  http://www.hjnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2485
Note: from the Associated Press

FEDERAL JUDGE WEIGHS MARIJUANA'S CLASSIFICATION

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A federal judge in California is weighing
the constitutionality of a 45-year-old act that classifies marijuana
as a dangerous drug along with LSD, cocaine and heroin.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller in Sacramento held a five-day
fact-finding hearing on the classification question late last year,
and final arguments are scheduled for next month, the Los Angeles
Times reported Monday. Her ruling is expected later this year.

The case marks the first time in decades that a judge has agreed to
consider marijuana's designation as a Schedule 1 drug under the 1970
Controlled Substances Act, the newspaper said. Under the act, Schedule
1 drugs have no medicinal purpose, are unsafe even under medical
supervision and contain a high potential for abuse.

Mueller's decision to hold the hearing came in response to a pretrial
defense motion in a federal case against alleged marijuana growers.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully opposed the fact-finding effort.

A ruling against federal cannabis law would apply only to the
defendants in the case and almost certainly would be appealed, the
newspaper said. If the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals determined
the law was unconstitutional, all the Western states would be affected.

Attorneys for the defendants have argued that the federal marijuana
law violates the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under
the law. They contend the government enforces marijuana law unevenly -
allowing distribution of cannabis in states where it is legal and
cracking down elsewhere.

The prosecution countered that Congress legally placed pot in Schedule
1.

Zenia K. Gilg, a lawyer for the growers, told the Times that
scientific understanding and public acceptance of marijuana have grown
substantially since courts last examined the federal classification.
She cited the November election, when voters in Alaska and Oregon
decided to join Colorado and Washington in making cannabis legal for
recreational use. Most states already provide some legal protection
for its use as medicine.

Prosecutors said in a brief filed Jan. 7 that the evidence presented
in the hearing at most "established that there is some dispute among
doctors as to whether marijuana is medicine."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D