News (Media Awareness Project) - US HI: Editorial: Medical Marijuana Use Under Feds' Challenge |
| Title: | US HI: Editorial: Medical Marijuana Use Under Feds' Challenge |
| Published On: | 2000-08-07 |
| Source: | Honolulu Star-Bulletin (HI) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-03 13:21:53 |
MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE UNDER FEDS' CHALLENGE
The Issue: A California Law Authorizing The Use Of Marijuana For Medical Purposes Is Being Challenged By The Federal Government.
Our View: The New Hawaii Law Could Face A Similar Challenge.
The new Hawaii law authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes could come into conflict with federal authority. Such a conflict is being played out in California, where the Justice Department is arguing that doctors who recommend the drug lose their right to prescribe legal medicines. The argument was made at a hearing in San Francisco on a suit seeking to protect doctors from punishment for advising their patients to use marijuana.
An order issued by a federal judge in 1997 barred the federal government from acting against California doctors who recommended marijuana under a 1996 initiative. That measure allowed patients to use marijuana without risking prosecution under state drug laws.
However, it could not override federal laws outlawing marijuana. U.S. District Judge William Alsup must decide whether to extend, expand or withdraw the order.
The Clinton administration opposed the 1996 initiative. Its drug policy chief, Barry McCaffrey, announced after its passage that any doctors who prescribed or recommended marijuana would lose their federal licenses to prescribe drugs, would be excluded from Medicare and MediCal and could face criminal prosecution.
In response, a group of doctors and their patients filed a lawsuit, claiming the government was violating their freedom of speech. The injunction protecting doctors followed.
At a hearing last week, Joseph Lobue, a Justice Department lawyer, said, "It doesn't matter what California says. There is a national standard."
A doctor who recommends the use of marijuana, the attorney said, "has recommended use of a drug that has been found to be unsafe" by Congress and the Food and Drug Administration. He likened it to a lawyer's recommending that a client commit perjury.
Lobue denied that federal authorities were threatening criminal prosecution but said doctors who suggested the use of any illegal drug risked losing their right to participate in federally regulated programs, including drug prescription.
Supporters of the Hawaii law maintain that physicians need not fear federal action if they recommend marijuana use. In view of the case in California, it appears that question is yet to be decided.
The Issue: A California Law Authorizing The Use Of Marijuana For Medical Purposes Is Being Challenged By The Federal Government.
Our View: The New Hawaii Law Could Face A Similar Challenge.
The new Hawaii law authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes could come into conflict with federal authority. Such a conflict is being played out in California, where the Justice Department is arguing that doctors who recommend the drug lose their right to prescribe legal medicines. The argument was made at a hearing in San Francisco on a suit seeking to protect doctors from punishment for advising their patients to use marijuana.
An order issued by a federal judge in 1997 barred the federal government from acting against California doctors who recommended marijuana under a 1996 initiative. That measure allowed patients to use marijuana without risking prosecution under state drug laws.
However, it could not override federal laws outlawing marijuana. U.S. District Judge William Alsup must decide whether to extend, expand or withdraw the order.
The Clinton administration opposed the 1996 initiative. Its drug policy chief, Barry McCaffrey, announced after its passage that any doctors who prescribed or recommended marijuana would lose their federal licenses to prescribe drugs, would be excluded from Medicare and MediCal and could face criminal prosecution.
In response, a group of doctors and their patients filed a lawsuit, claiming the government was violating their freedom of speech. The injunction protecting doctors followed.
At a hearing last week, Joseph Lobue, a Justice Department lawyer, said, "It doesn't matter what California says. There is a national standard."
A doctor who recommends the use of marijuana, the attorney said, "has recommended use of a drug that has been found to be unsafe" by Congress and the Food and Drug Administration. He likened it to a lawyer's recommending that a client commit perjury.
Lobue denied that federal authorities were threatening criminal prosecution but said doctors who suggested the use of any illegal drug risked losing their right to participate in federally regulated programs, including drug prescription.
Supporters of the Hawaii law maintain that physicians need not fear federal action if they recommend marijuana use. In view of the case in California, it appears that question is yet to be decided.
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