SUIT OVER POT'S 'BENEFIT' STUMBLES

An Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit can't put the federal government
on trial for saying that marijuana has no medical use -- but it might
get to challenge the government for blowing deadlines, a federal
judge in California ruled last week.

Americans for Safe Access sued in February after two federal agencies
refused to alter government-published statements saying marijuana has
"no currently accepted medical use in the United States."

In an eight-page ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge William Alsup
agreed with Justice Department lawyers that the federal Information
Quality Act provides for only administrative, not judicial, review
for people to challenge the "quality, objectivity, utility and
integrity" of information disseminated by federal agencies.

Alsup's ruling didn't address the government's claim that ASA lacked
standing because it failed to identify members who suffered harm from
the disputed statements or to show how the issue was germane to ASA's
organizational purpose.

Though Alsup rejected ASA's bid to revise those statements, he hinted
the plaintiff might be able to at least force the government to
address its assertion within a 60-day period provided by law.

"Conceivably," Alsup wrote, "a district court may order an agency to
act on the merits of an information-correction petition within a
specific time frame."

The Northern District judge dismissed the complaint in ASA v.
Department of Health and Human Services, 07-01049, with leave to amend.