Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project 760.799.2055

Hi Everyone,
Tonight (Friday) at 9 p.m. I will be doing my weekly radio talk show with guest Margaret Dooley, Los Angeles Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance. We will be covering a number of issues that are of direct concern to medical marijuana patients including the ruling just issued by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals denying three medical marijuana clubs in Oakland, Fairfax and Ukiah what appeared to be their final appeal in a long-running battle against a federal court injunction barring them from giving marijuana to patients (article printed at end of this email).
Margaret and I will talk about what DPA is doing around the country
to promote more rational marijuana laws, including medical marijuana.
Of special interest will be a discussion on why the DEA shouldn’t be
working with local law enforcement and the recent statement by House
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers deploring the DEA actions
and agreeing to hold hearings.
These hearings will be the FIRST time that the DEA will be called
before Congress and be held accountable for their reprehensible
actions taken against medical marijuana patients and providers. This
has the potential to become a major campaign issue in 2008 and spur
the Democratic leadership to oppose the DEA tactics and stand up for
patients in states where medical cannabis is legal.
This is talk radio and you will be able to call-in and talk with
Margaret. The listener call-in number is 909-888-KCAA (5222).
There are two ways to hear the show. If you live in Western San
Bernardino and Riverside Counties, you should be able to hear the show
on 1050 AM. You can also hear the show anywhere on your computer at
www.kcaaradio.com
. On the home page click on the gold button at the top of the page
that reads LISTEN LIVE. You can also listen to the show and see me in
the KCAA studio doing the show (just like the Howard Stern show) by
clicking on the gold button in the left hand column of the KCAA
website home page that reads KCAATV.
Call your friends and acquaintances and let them know to listen in as
well. That’s this Friday night (and every Friday night) at 9 p.m. on
KCAA radio, 1050 AM and at www.kcaaradio.com.
Listen in, call-in, be-in.
Lanny
**Bay Area Pot Clubs Lose Possible Final Appeal**
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / BCN)
Three medical marijuana clubs in Oakland, Fairfax and Ukiah Thursday
lost what appeared to be their final appeal in a long-running battle
against a federal court injunction barring them from giving marijuana
to patients.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a
permanent injunction issued by a federal trial judge in 2002 against
the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana and Ukiah Cannabis Buyer's Club.
The case began in 1998 when the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil
lawsuit seeking to stop the three clubs as well as three other
now-defunct dispensaries in San Francisco and Santa Cruz from giving
marijuana to patients.
A voter-approved California law, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996,
allows seriously ill patients to use marijuana with a doctor's
approval, but federal laws don't recognize the state law.
The claims decided by the appeals court today were the only arguments
left in the case after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected other claims
raised by the clubs.
In a key ruling in 2001, the high court said federal law doesn't
allow a "medical necessity" exception for distribution of marijuana to
seriously ill patients.
In another ruling in 2005 in a lawsuit filed by medical marijuana
patient Angel Raich, the high court rejected the argument that locally
grown medical marijuana is not part of interstate commerce and thus
not subject to federal laws criminalizing the drug.
In Thursday's decision, the appeals court turned down the three
clubs' argument that marijuana shouldn't be classified as a Schedule I
drug under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. The category is for
drugs that have a high potential for abuse and have no accepted
medical use.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court said the classification is
constitutional and has a rational basis.
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative executive director Jeffrey Jones
said the club is unlikely to appeal further to the Supreme Court, but
said the ruling is "just another bump in the legal road" in the
group's bid to help patients needing medical marijuana.