Pubdate: Thu, 16 Apr 2015
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2015 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Maura Dolan

POT LEGALIZATION IS DEALT A BLOW

A Judge Upholds a 1970 Federal Law Classifying Marijuana As a Dangerous Drug.

SAN FRANCISCO - Efforts to legalize marijuana suffered a defeat in 
court Wednesday when a judge upheld the constitutionality of a 1970 
federal law that classifies cannabis as a dangerous drug akin to LSD 
and heroin.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, announcing her decision at a 
hearing in Sacramento, said she could not lightly overturn a law 
passed by Congress.

Mueller agreed last year to hold an extensive fact-finding hearing on 
the issue, raising the hopes of activists seeking to legalize 
marijuana and worrying opponents who consider the drug a threat to 
health and public safety. The hearing marked the first time in 
decades that a judge was willing to examine the classification of 
marijuana under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

The Schedule 1 classification is for drugs that have no medicinal 
purpose, are unsafe even under medical supervision and contain a high 
potential for abuse. In addition to marijuana, heroin and LSD, other 
Schedule 1 drugs include Ecstasy and mescaline.

Mueller, an Obama appointee, announced her decision before issuing a 
written ruling, which is still pending.

She considered the constitutionality of the classification in 
response to a pretrial motion brought by lawyers defending accused 
marijuana growers.

"At some point in time, a court may decide this status to be 
unconstitutional," Mueller was quoted as saying on leafonline.com, a 
pro-marijuana blog that has been covering the case. "But this is not 
the court and not the time."

Dale Gieringer, director of the California branch of the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said Mueller's 
decision could not be appealed until after the criminal case against 
the growers was resolved. A trial is not expected until late this 
year or early next year.

"This is on a very slow train," Gieringer said.

He said Mueller remarked that much has changed since marijuana's 
classification but "a lower court judge has to follow the law." He 
said last year's hearing "showed the dysfunctionality of the current 
drug laws."

Because of marijuana's Schedule 1 status, federal restrictions make 
it difficult for researchers to obtain legal cannabis for study, advocates say.

NORML's national office praised Mueller for "having the courage to 
hear this issue and provide it the careful consideration it deserves."

"While we are disappointed with this ruling, it changes little," said 
Paul Armentano, NORML's deputy director. "We always felt this had to 
ultimately be decided by the 9th Circuit and we have an unprecedented 
record for the court to consider."

Scott Chipman, Southern California chairman of Citizens Against 
Legalizing Marijuana, said he was pleased with the ruling but found 
it "disturbing " that Mueller had even conducted a fact-finding 
hearing on the issue.

"There is a false sense that marijuana legalization is on the move, 
when we are seeing a huge pushback against legalization, particularly 
in small towns across the country," Chipman said. "It is a seriously 
harmful drug that is much stronger than it was in the '70s and is 
getting stronger by the month."

U.S. Atty. Benjamin B. Wagner, whose office is prosecuting the 
marijuana growers, said he was pleased with Mueller's decision.

The question before the judge, he said, "was not whether marijuana 
should be legalized for medical or recreational use, but whether 
decisions concerning the status of marijuana under federal law should 
properly be made in accordance with the science-based scheduling 
process set forth in the Controlled Substances Act passed by Congress." 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom