JUDGE BANS GOV'T FROM PURSUING DOCTORS WHO RECOMMEND MARIJUANA FOR TREATMENT

Marijuana Plants Are Grown For Medicinal Purposes

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Lawsuit Prompted Order

Lawyer: Threat Had Chilling Effect

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- The federal government can't prosecute doctors who
recommend marijuana as a medical treatment for patients, a federal judge
ruled Thursday in California.

U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup, sitting on the bench in San
Francisco, issued an injunction permanently banning the government
from revoking a physician's license to prescribe medicine "merely
because the doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient based on
a sincere medical judgment."

Alsup also blocked the government from initiating an investigation of
a doctor solely because he or she prescribes marijuana.

"This injunction applies whether or not the physician anticipates that
the recommendation will in turn be used by the patient to obtain
marijuana in violation of federal law," he wrote.

Lawsuit prompted order

Alsup's order stems from a lawsuit filed by a group of California
doctors and patients against National Drug Policy Director Barry
McCaffrey, who had warned that physicians who recommend marijuana
could have their federal licenses yanked. The case became a
class-action lawsuit.

A lawyer who represents the doctors and patients welcomed the ruling
Thursday.

"It's actually quite significant," said Graham Boyd of the American
Civil Liberties Union.

It was unclear whether the government would appeal Alsup's decision,
and U.S. Justice Department officials could not be reached Thursday
night for comment.

Photo: Bags of marijuana are gathered for patients, top, along with a verity
of marijuana cookies, bottom.

Lawyer: Threat had chilling effect

Boyd said that by threatening to prosecute doctors considering
marijuana asa prescribed treatment, the government effectively
discouraged physicians from talking about that option with their
cancer and AIDS patients, some of whom used the drug to combat nausea
and help maintain weight.

"Doctors have been very chilled from having these conversations, and
this (order) really does cure that," he said.

Physicians are licensed by the federal government to prescribe
medicines. Without the license, the doctor essentially is out of
business. Alsup's ruling, at least for the moment, protects a
practitioner's license in the case of marijuana recommendations, Boyd
said.

The lawyer said one California doctor was interrogated by federal Drug
Enforcement Administration agents shortly after the policy was
announced, although no charges were filed. An earlier, preliminary
ruling discouraged the DEA from pursuing such cases, Boyd said.

In 1996, California became the first state in the union to enact a
voter initiative legalizing the use of marijuana in serious medical
cases. The federal government is challenging the law.

Five other states have followed suit with their own initiatives:
Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Hawaii and Maine. Others also are
considering it, Boyd said.