BUSH UPS ATTACK ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA ASK COURTS TO OK DOCTORS PENALTIES

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants the Supreme Court's
permission to strip prescription licenses from doctors who recommend
marijuana to sick patients.

The administration, which has taken a hard stand against state medical
marijuana laws, asked the high court to strike down an appeals court
ruling that blocked the punishment or investigation of physicians who
tell patients they may be helped by the drug.

The administration's appeal, filed this week, gives the Supreme Court
a chance to revisit the subject of legalized marijuana. Two years ago,
the court ruled that there is no exception in federal drug laws for
people to use marijuana to ease pain from cancer, AIDS, or other
illnesses. That case also involved a ruling of the US Circuit Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson said the latest Ninth Circuit Court
decision keeps the US Drug Enforcement Administration from protecting
the public. He said the ruling licenses doctors to treat patients with
illegal drugs and that physicians who urge patients to use marijuana
are no different than those recommending heroin or LSD.

Medical marijuana laws are on the books in Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

At issue is a policy, put in place during the Clinton administration,
that requires revocation of prescription licenses of doctors who
recommend marijuana.

The appeals court said that the policy interferes with free-speech
rights of doctors and patients. Physicians should be able to speak
candidly with patients without fear of government sanctions, the court
said, but they can be punished if they actually help patients to
obtain the drug.

Graham Boyd, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing
patients, doctors, and other groups, said a government victory at the
high court would gut the medical marijuana laws and hurt
doctor-patient relationships.

''This case is about doctors providing honest and accurate medical
advice to patients and the government wanting to censor that advice
and leave patients to the Internet, their friends, and back alley
information in order to make medical decisions,'' Boyd said.

Justices will probably decide this fall whether to review the
case.