"Prop 215 Now Federal Law in California"

By Dale Gieringer, Coordinator, California NORML

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 16th.  In a stunning victory for medical marijuana, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the right of patients Angel Raich and Diane Monson to possess and cultivate marijuana for their own personal medical use in accordance with  Prop. 215.

        In a 2-1 ruling, Justices Pregerson and Paez held that the federal government lacked power under the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution to interfere with the plaintiffs' possession and cultivation of marijuana for personal use.  The court ordered a preliminary injunction barring the government from arresting Raich or Monson for violating the Controlled Substances Act.

        "This is an enormous victory for medical marijuana patients," declared California NORML coordinator Dale Gieringer, one of the original authors of Prop. 215, "It essentially makes Prop. 215 federal law in California"   (The decision should also apply to the other states in the Ninth Circuit with medical marijuana laws, namely Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada and Hawaii).

        The decision did not address the broader question of the federal government's authority over marijuana distribution and commerce within California, an issue that is the subject of a second, pending appeal by the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana and the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative.

        This marks the first case in which the Controlled Substances Act has been held unconstitutional.   The court's decision was based entirely on the Commerce Clause and did not address other issues raised by the plaintiffs, such as states' rights or the fundamental right of patients to relief from pain and suffering under the 5th and 9th amendments.

        In a dissenting opinion, Justice Beam, visiting from the 8th Circuit, wrote that he could see no difference between the activities of Raich and Monson and those of the wheat farmer Filburn, who was ruled subject to federal regulation in the Supreme Court's Wickard v Filburn precedent.

        An appeal to the Supreme Court appears certain.   Nonetheless, medical marijuana supporters are optimistic of victory, due to the fact that the Ninth Circuit's reasoning was based on recent Supreme Court precedents by the court's' conservative majority restricting federal powers under interstate commerce.

        The decision provides a boost of holiday cheer to numerous other defendants with medical marijuana cases currently pending appeal in federal court.