In Victory for Medical Marijuana, Court Tells DOJ to Lay Off Legal Providers

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/20/victory-medical-marijuana-court-tells-doj-lay-legal-providers

In a huge victory for the medical marijuana industry in California, a federal court on Monday ruled that the Department of Justice (DOJ) violated the law when it misused an amendment in last year's federal spending bill to prosecute legal dispensaries in the state.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court in northern California handed down a biting decision chastising the DOJ for its twisted interpretation of the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which bars the department or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) from taking legal action against suppliers in compliance with state regulations.

The DOJ instead used the amendment to do exactly that—claiming it only blocks the agency from challenging state laws, but not from going after individuals or businesses—and shut down one of California's oldest dispensaries, the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana (MAMM), in the process.

"It defies language and logic for the government to argue that it does not prevent California from implementing its medical marijuana laws by shutting down these ... heavily regulated medical marijuana dispensaries," Breyer wrote in the decision for MAMM v. USDOJ, which could set a precedent for how the justice system addresses state-legal protection of pot businesses.

Breyer's is the first known ruling by a federal judge to rule in favor of a dispensary under the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which was only approved for one year after the spending bill was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014, but which is expected to be renewed by U.S. Congress.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. Is this guy related to Stephen, the Supreme Court Justice?

[Pastiche423]

2. Yes

He's Stephen's younger brother.

[eridani]

3. US Government Accused of Stifling Medical Marijuana Research

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/21/us-government-accused-stifling-medical-marijuana-research

Government bias and schizophrenic marijuana policy in the U.S. are stifling research into its medical uses, charges a new paper published Tuesday by researchers with the Brookings Institution, which in turn could heighten public policy and health risks as more and more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana usage.

While information about the possible benefits and harms of the drug has never been so critical, "the U.S. government has held back the medical community’s ability to conduct the type of research that the scientific community considers the experimental gold standard in guiding medical practice," argue (pdf) Brookings fellow John Hudak and senior research assistant Grace Wallack, both with the Washington D.C. think tank's Center for Effective Public Management.

"Of all the controlled substances that the federal government regulates, cannabis is treated in a unique manner in ways that specifically impede research," continue Hudak and Wallack. "Statutory, regulatory, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers have paralyzed science and threatened the integrity of research freedom in this area."

[eridani]

4. Federal court torches the DEA over medical marijuana raids and prosecutions

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/10/20/1436024/-Federal-court-torches-the-DEA-over-medical-marijuana-raids-and-prosecutions

For two years in a row, the House of Representatives has voted to approve the Rohrabacher-Farr Medical Marijuana Amendment, which prohibits the federal government from prosecuting medical marijuana patients or distributors who are in compliance with the laws of their state.

Unfortunately, the DEA had another take on the amendment:

The DEA, however, didn't see it that way. In a leaked memo, the Justice Department contended that the amendment only prevents actions against actual states -- not against the individuals or businesses or business that actually carry out marijuana laws. In their interpretation, the bill still allowed them to pursue criminal and civil actions against medical marijuana businesses and the patients who patronized them.

Medical cannabis operators sued and not only did they win their lawsuit, the Judge Charles Breyer unloaded on the DEA in the decision:

In a scathing decision, a federal court in California has ruled that the Drug Enforcement Administration's interpretation of a recent medical marijuana bill "defies language and logic," "tortures the plain meaning of the statute" and is "at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law."

[Jesus Malverde]

5. Same fool who convicted Ed rosenthal

Breyer is an ass. A hypocritical ass.

Under strict orders from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, Rosenthal couldn't tell the jury he was growing pot as "an officer" for Oakland's medical marijuana program.

http://articles.latimes.com/2003/feb/01/local/me-pot1