Medicinal cannabis

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Arrest and harassment in the 1980's and 1990's

Cancer suffer, and medicinal cannabis user Lynn Pierson, died eight months after the New Mexico legislature promised to help him meet his legitimate medical needs. He never received any legal Marijuana due to Federal interference(39 ).

"Brownie Mary" Mary Rathbun was arrested in July 1992 for baking cannabis laced brownies for AIDS patients. The governments case began to unravel, leaving only a misdemeanor possession charge. This was dropped on Dec 15 because according to Gene Tunney it would be too costly to prosecute(40 ).

Paralyzed Chris Woilderski tried to get FDA approval for medicinal use of cannabis, he said about his experience "FDA officials lied to me and my doctor" he also said " The bureaucrats gave me the red-tape run around. My Senators were useless. The Bush administration simply killed the compassionate IND program and ignored my pleas for help"(41 ).

Tim Braun said "To someone with AIDS marijuana can be the difference between living and dying. I'm attached to a morphine pump, but the Bush administration won't let me have legal access to medical marijuana. That's crazy" he continued "They've given me a death sentence." shortly after saying this he died(42 ).

Post Millennium harassment

Medical cannabis advocate Grant Krieger was convicted of drug trafficking for providing cannabis to the disabled, his reaction to this, made him say he was "ashamed to be Canadian"(43 ).

Two men were sentenced to prison, one fpr 21 years in prison (Oliver W. Wanger) and 20 years for the other (Ricardo Ruiz Montes) for their part in running a Modesto California medical-marijuana operation. Modesto attorney Robert Forkner, who represented Montes, said "This is a sad day for all California voters and citizens who approved Proposition 215 by an overwhelming majority," he also said. "Mr. Scarmazzo and Mr. Montes do not deserve 20 years in prison for operating a legally licensed business."(44 ).

Charles C. Lynch operated a medical cannabis operation called Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay, California. Charlie worked with city of Morro Bay and the county of San Luis Obispo to obtain a business license. San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Patrick Hedges didn't like that. Working against the people of California, and with the feds, he went to work on Busting Charlie. An early attempt to use state officials failed, because state officials found nothing wrong with Charlie's operation. Advocate Cheryl Aichele explains the fallout "By some estimates Charlie faces up 100 years in federal prison. However, anytime behind bars would be a travesty of justice in this situation," and the scope of his operation "Charlie was out of work and more than 2,000 patients with doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana lost their safe access to medicine that helps their chronic conditions and terminal illnesses."(45 ).

The California Police Chiefs Association president Steve Krull, urged DEA Administrator Karen Tandy to "become more actively involved in working with local law enforcement to close these [medical marijuana] distribution centers, seize their profits and all marijuana which might be located and to take these cases into the federal judicial system." Krull believed that "a concentrated effort sustained over a period of time would send a strong message to local and county government that 'medical marijuana' is not allowed and that those who profit from the sales and distribution of marijuana under the guise of 'medicine' will face the consequences."(46).

The California State Supreme Court rule what could be a devastating blow to medical cannabis Coops they ruled primary caregivers must have an established care-giving relationship with the patient before providing that patient with medicinal marijuana. They also ruled that primary care givers cannot sell their cannabis to other medicinal users or collectives. They said that these acts "do nothing to insulate from prosecution for his cultivation of and sale of marijuana for those for whom he did not provide shelter or non marijuana-based health care " and "... nor would it protect him from prosecution for cultivating marijuana and providing it to cannabis clubs." (47 ).

A way out

Obama's Commerce Secretary, Bill Richardson thinks we need to "rethink and decriminalize" our cannabis laws (48 ).

President Obama said about arresting medicinal cannabis users "The Justice Department going after sick individuals using this as a palliative instead of going after serious criminals makes no sense," (49 ).

Or more of the same

Some are concerned, even though Obama has promised not to go after medical cannabis users his perceived choices for his administration don't reflect this. Eric Holder, for US Attorney General has shown a bias against the used of medical cannabis (50 ).

A final word from the DEA

In 1988, a DEA administrative law judge, declared that cannabis in it's natural form fulfilled the legal requirements of currently accepted use in treatment in the United states. He also said cannabis is "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man"(51).