APPEALS COURT RULES DOCTORS MAY RECOMMEND MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ruled for the first time Tuesday
that the government cannot revoke doctors' prescription licenses for
recommending marijuana to sick patients.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously
found that the Justice Department's policy interferes with the free-speech
rights of doctors and patients.

"An integral component of the practice of medicine is the communication
between doctor and a patient. Physicians must be able to speak frankly and
openly to patients,'' Chief Circuit Judge Mary Schroeder said.

The 9th Circuit upheld a 2-year-old court order prohibiting the government
from stripping doctors of their licenses to dispense medication. The policy
was blocked before any licenses were actually revoked.

The dispute is one of several cases resulting from medical marijuana laws
on the books in eight states.

The government argued that doctors were aiding and abetting criminal
activity for recommending marijuana because it is an illegal drug under
federal narcotics laws.

But the appeals court said doctors have a constitutional right to speak
candidly with their patients about marijuana without fear of government
sanctions.

The court said doctors could get in trouble only if they actually helped
patients obtain marijuana. Merely recommending the drug "does not translate
into aiding and abetting, or conspiracy,'' Schroeder said.

Graham Boyd, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, had urged the
judges to preserve the sanctity of doctor-patient interactions. "That is
speech that is protected by the First Amendment,'' he argued.

The case was brought by patients' rights groups and doctors including Neil
Flynn of the University of California at Davis, who said marijuana may help
some patients, but that doctors have been fearful of recommending it.