Supreme Court says government can prosecute medical marijuana users скачать в хорошем качестве

Supreme Court says government can prosecute medical marijuana users

(7 Jun 2005) APTN - Washington, D.C. - June 6, 2005 1. Exterior shots of the US Supreme Court APTN FILE - Location/date unknown 2. Close-up of person smoking marijuana joint 3. Man weighing marijuana on a scale 4. Man putting marijuana in a plastic bag 5. Close-up woman smoking marijuana joint APTN FILE - San Francisco, California 6. Poster reading "Medical" in California cannabis club 7. Various shots of man putting marijuana in plastic bags 8. Man smoking marijuana in club 9. Older woman smoking marijuana in club APTN - Washington, D.C. - June 6, 2006 10. SOUNDBITE (English): Allen St. Pierre/Executive Director, Norml - National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: "What we really need to have happen is that Congress needs to pass laws that comport with most peoples' understanding of drugs. And most people almost certainly believe that if you can have cocaine, morphine, methadone and oxycontin prescribed to a sick, dying or sense-threatened person, you can probably have marijuana prescribed, as well." APTN FILE 11. Older woman smoking marijuana STORYLINE: In a blow to medical marijuana advocates, the US Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal authorities may prosecute sick people who use marijuana, even if their doctors prescribed the drug to ease pain. Ten US states have laws allowing the medical use of marijuana to treat various illnesses. But in a six-to-three decision, the Supreme Court concluded that those state laws don't protect users from a federal ban on the drug. In his written decision for the Court majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said the federal law - the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 - overules any state law allowing the medical use of marijuana. But he said that Congress does have the power to change that law. The closely-watched case involved two seriously ill California women who use marijuana to treat their illnesses. In 2002, they sued then-US Attorney General John Ashcroft, asking for a court order letting them smoke, grow or obtain marijuana without fear of arrest, home raids or other intrusion by federal authorities. California's medical marijuana law, passed by voters in 1996, allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation. Nine other states have laws similar to California, in which doctors generally can give written or oral recommendations on marijuana to patients with cancer, HIV and other serious illnesses. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor - joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas - said states should be allowed to set their own rules on issues such as this one. The legal question presented a dilemma for the court's conservatives, who have pushed to broaden states' rights in recent years. They earlier invalidated federal laws dealing with gun possession near schools and violence against women on the grounds the activity was too local to justify federal intrusion. Advocates of marijuana for medicinal purposes said they will now pressure Congress to change the law to allow the drug to be prescribed to sick patients. Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of Norml, the National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said if stronger drugs - such as cocaine, morphine and oxycontin - can be prescribed by physicians, marijuana should be legal for those purposes, too. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...