Supreme Court Hands Medical Marijuana Major Victory

The U.S. Supreme Court handed medical marijuana patients and advocates a resounding victory on Monday, refusing to hear a case brought by San Diego County, which has long chafed at implementing statewide medical marijuana laws.

The state of California, in an effort to systematize the 1996 voter-approved initiative, required localities to implement identification card programs for patients with doctor approval in 2004. Such ID cards are required to enter medical marijuana shops in California and can be shown to police officers who find patients in possession of marijuana.

San Diego County, however, argued that the federal ban on marijuana trumps the state law, meaning they are not required to follow the state law. The county filed suit in 2006. Both the San Diego Superior Court and the Fourth District Court of Appeals rejected the argument, which was followed by the California Supreme Court's refusal to review the case in 2008.

The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to appeal to the Supreme Court.

"The courts have made clear that federal law does not preempt California's medical marijuana law and that local officials must comply with that law," said Joe Elford, chief counsel with Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a national medical marijuana advocacy group with a large presence in California. "No longer will local officials be able to hide behind federal law and resist upholding California's medical marijuana law."

It is not the job, in other words, of local cops or municipalities to enforce federal laws. In fact, the federal government has never made such an argument. The California counties acted on their own.

The Supreme Court ruling, following the Obama administration's decision not to raid medical marijuana clubs acting in accordance with state law, removes one of the last barriers to full implementation of the state law.

ASA has now given notice to 10 conservative holdout counties (Colusa, Madera, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, San Bernardino, San Diego, Solano, Stanislaus, and Sutter) of their legal obligation to implement the ID card program. In January 2009, ASA, something of an industry trade group, filed a lawsuit in January against Solano County for its refusal to implement the state ID card program.

ASA was joined by the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project in assisting the California Attorney General in the case against San Diego. San Bernardino teamed with San Diego.

"The Supreme Court and the lower courts in California have blown away the myth that federal law somehow prevents states from legalizing medical marijuana," said Rob Kampia, executive director for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Thirteen states have laws that allow certain folks to use medical marijuana if their doctor recommends it. Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York are currently considering medical marijuana bills in their state legislatures.

Ryan Grim is the author of the forthcoming book This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America

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Comments

[davyd56]

03:07 PM on 05/22/2009

What a perfect time to legalize and tax it. The CA economy is so bad...it does give credence to helping to balance CA budget. Should have been done a long time ago.

[Sarah Katherine]

03:52 AM on 05/20/2009

Here is a clip from the Showtime documentary on medical marijuana "In Pot We Trust".

In the first couple of minutes, you see a woman with cerebral palsy and a severe stutter... who then takes her medicine... and 3 puffs later, no stutter.

Really worth a watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLpJMacS8c8&feature=channel_page

[IDIOTA]

07:46 PM on 05/25/2009

I never knew that cerebral palsy could be limited to speech. That woman was obviously very intelligent and made a rational decision that will help her rear her children and give them, as she says, the mother that they deserve. I am fascinated about the method of action. It seems as if pot helps her synchronize her thought with her actions.

[ab390yes]

09:14 AM on 05/19/2009

This is great news for all 13 medical marijuana states.

If you live in California and favor legalizing marijuana, YOU can make it happen. Tell your state legislators to support California Assembly Bill 390. It's easy. Visit yes390.org

[JXJASON]

08:43 AM on 05/19/2009

When I was 15 years old, in 1958, I was in favor of legalizing marijuana. It was the smart thing to do.

I do not use pot. I do not smoke cigars or cigarettes either. The money wasted on controlling drug use has not accomplished what was intended and has cost us a fortune.

Like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the misguided laws that make drug use illegal are a huge waste of money.

Good luck in decriminalizing all drug use...not just pot.

[HeuristicA1]

06:39 AM on 05/19/2009

Just to add some color, Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), with a vote of 6-3, answered definitively that medical marijuana remains illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, and that the Controlled Substances Act trumps state law. That issue was directly addressed and answered. That the federal government may choose, at its discretion, not to enforce federal law may count as a victory of sorts.

But I wouldn't read too much into the Supreme Court's refusal to grant cert. It's simply a refusal to address the issue, not a statement of approval of the state court rulings.

[IDIOTA]

07:48 PM on 05/25/2009

But the argument seems sound, doesn't it, that the states are not empowered to enforce federal law.

[AnotherTry]

05:34 AM on 05/19/2009

I guess this means states can ignore DOMA as well.

[JakeHanson]

12:14 PM on 05/26/2009

Down with DOMA!!

[Sarah Katherine]

01:14 AM on 05/19/2009

Here is a brief (2 minute) history of weed, by the maker's of Showtime's "Weeds"... thought you all might like it ~
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/history-of-weed-video-2-min/

[Coltrane1234]

01:25 AM on 05/19/2009

Thank you.

[krechsd]

12:23 AM on 05/19/2009

Hopefully in the next election San Diego voters will get rid of their out-of-touch vigilante DA, and Board of Supervisors.

[kgb999]

01:05 AM on 05/19/2009

How much do you think that fight just cost ... while county budgets are crumbling?

[lemonyashes]

04:45 AM on 05/19/2009

Good question.

[chasmader]

08:10 AM on 05/19/2009

I don't know. San Diegans are not known for their tolerance.

[Tom Payned]

12:24 PM on 05/19/2009

Where did you get that idea?

I lived in San Diego from 1961 to 1997. During that time, almost every Mayor was bought & paid for by the construction industry. Police chiefs are chosen by the city counsel, which of course sets up a two tiered policing standard, counsel members kept giving themselves raises and other perks leading the huge deficit the city faced a few years before the financial collapse the rest of the country experienced. A candidate from Pacific Beach won the mayoral election on a write in campaign, only to have the victory overturned. The majority of the citizens rejected PetCo park yet it was built at tax payer expense. The majority opposed the deal the Chargers got from the city where the city would buy every vacant seat for every home game. The list goes on and on, but the post only allows so many words.

[JakeHanson]

12:16 PM on 05/26/2009

I live in San Diego, and there is some truth to what you are saying. I live near Hillcrest (very open-minded, lots of gay people, etc.) yet 5 minutes in either direction and you hit a swath of Yes on 8 neighborhoods. It's sad, really.

[mydwyf]

12:20 AM on 05/19/2009

Posted today on WebMD:

Active component in marijuana targets aggressive brain cancer cells.
THC 'causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy.
Autophagy is the breakdown of a cell that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests.

The patients did not have any toxic effects from the treatment.

[kgb999]

01:07 AM on 05/19/2009

Ok, nausea and glaucoma I'll buy ..... brain cancer??? Got any links for that one?

[Sarah Katherine]

01:18 AM on 05/19/2009

Check this out ~ the more recent studies are listed in the second part, all with references to the studies and media coverage. Not only brain cancer, but lung and breast cancer as well ~ take a look!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis#Partial_list_of_clinical_applications

[Stephen Weiss]

01:26 AM on 05/19/2009

It's good for many types of cancer, as it helps restore appetite after drastic treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.

[JakeHanson]

12:18 PM on 05/26/2009

SWEET. I'll never have to worry about brain cancer then! :) (Of course I will...just saying...)

[thrugreeneyez]

11:58 PM on 05/18/2009

Legalize it already!

[lemonyashes]

04:56 AM on 05/19/2009

What-legalize Marijuana!!??? Legalizing Marijuana would compete with alcohol consumption. We can't have thaaat!! After all alcohol is the big "White Men's" preferred drug of choice in it's hopes of poisoning the minds and bodies of the people thus putting the nation in a legal stupor and it shows.

[kfdan]

11:57 PM on 05/18/2009

It's about time that something was done to clarify States Rights on this issue. Those politicians and special interests groups with an axe to grind on Marijuana have just had their heads (no pun intended) handed to them!!!

[zizyphus]

10:16 PM on 05/18/2009

It is a crime to keep the safest, most versatile and effective, cheap medicine away from the people who need it.

[TomCat84]

10:04 PM on 05/18/2009

Hey folks, the Supreme Court made NO ruling. They simply declined to grant cert, which means they declined to hear the case. They said nothing about the MERITS of the case, which means this issue isnt resolved.

[JDJase]

10:39 PM on 05/18/2009

Um no, it doesnt mean the issue isn't resolved, it means the lower courts rulings stand.

[VTL]

11:48 PM on 05/18/2009

I hope you're not a lawyer.

[barackobama4prez]

09:48 PM on 05/18/2009

Republicans now have another social cause to fight for Jesus.

Breaking News: The Democrats want to give marijuana to children.

[derekc06]

10:37 PM on 05/18/2009

Yep... I just saw that on FoxNews...

[Coltrane1234]

01:26 AM on 05/19/2009

I hope they do, it would calm the little sh*ts down.

[Tom Payned]

09:36 PM on 05/18/2009

Wow, an empathetic decision. But since they didn't hear the case, I guess we can't call them "activist" judges.

Too bad the ruling will only apply to the courts 9th district which encompasses CA, OR, WA, AZ, NV, ID.

Well, that's where most of us lefties are concentrated anyway.

[VTL]

11:51 PM on 05/18/2009

Yeah, those "lefties" in San Diego...the people who pushed it all the way to the Supreme Court...

Duh.

[Tom Payned]

02:13 PM on 05/19/2009

Don't confuse the San Diego County board of supervisors with the people of San Diego.

As a resident from 1961 to 1997 I can tell you from personal experience the old time residents, and beach area people have been doing pot since at least 1968, acid since about 70, coke in the late 70's early 80's.

The county board of supervisors are bought and paid for who res with backing from the construction industry. The owners of the only newspaper is the Coply family, whose paper was the only paper to call for Nixon's resignation the day after he resigned, and who refused to list unrated movies in their paper even though those theaters were willing to pay for the ad.

The people of San Diego voted down a new baseball park twice, yet it was built anyway. The people voted against subsidizing the Chargers, yet the Chargers had a guarantee San Diego Tax Payers would buy all of the vacant seats, which they did. The owner of the team fired the cheerleaders because they showed too much flesh.

A mayoral candidate from Pacific Beach won the election via a write in campaign. Her victory was tossed out by the District Attorney as not all of the ballots were legible.

So don't confuse the residents with the elites who run things.