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SAN FRANCISCO — A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The case was brought by Angel Raich, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments. On her doctor's advice, she eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster a nonexistent appetite as conventional drugs did not work.
SAN FRANCISCO — A California woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive is not immune from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The case was brought by Angel Raich, an Oakland mother of two who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments. On her doctor's advice, she eats or smokes marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster a nonexistent appetite as conventional drugs did not work.
I've been out there. In fact, I met and talked to Dr. Tod Mikuriya (sp?), a strong advocate of legal pot for sick people. He is a serious, well informed man. Also, he's a medical doctor, over 70 years old.
That story you cited is a national disgrace. I'd like to bring up the JUDGE on charges. Just because there are a bunch of people who aren't sick getting pot under the umbrella of this law (sadly, there are; likely that abuse is the reason behind this odd enforcement of the law) is no excuse for this.
My mom died of cancer, and I got her some pot. Unfortunately, it did not help her. It doesn't, always. But, I'd have copped heroin in an alley if I thought it would have relieved her suffering, which was terrible towards the end.
Judges and prosecutors who bring charges against people who are using marijuana for medical purposes obviously have no feelings for others.
I sincerely hope the judges and prosecutors who take people to court over people smoking marijuana to cope with an illness to get cancer themselves, hopefully they get the very worse form of cancer there is and I hope their symptoms are a thousand times worse then the people they are prosecuting!!
How cold and mean can these judges get?
Its amazing rather then these sorry low-life judges and prosecutors worrying about all the violence around the nation, they decide to prosecute this poor women who is just trying to make her life somewhat tolerable with the only thing that works for her.
Agreed. Those judges are wasting their time on a harmless old woman. Why do they care if she smokes pot if shes not giving/selling it to anyone and just minding her business? By the way pot is decriminalized in CA so im sure nothing will happen anyway.
I agree with all of you, and think it's a disgrace to waste time & money persecuting a sick woman. I have a friend who's been fighting a brain tumor for 10+ years, and you could say that pot keeps him alive... without it, he can't keep any food down during chemo, and would waste away to nothing. Luckily we live in California, where he's able to legally get the only medicine that works.
I also have a prescription for it, which helps to alleviate my arthritis after a long day. There are obviously people much worse off than myself, and they do NOT deserve to be treated as criminals. "Real" drugs like vicodin, oxycontin, valium, etc., are more addictive and harmful... but I guess when the government (and pharmaceutical industry) benefits from sales, it's somehow more socially & legally acceptable. Hypocrisy at it's finest!
take that back Matt.I saw my mother whither away to the point see didn't even know who I was,I wouldn't wish that on anyone no matter how misguided they might be.
I just don't understand why there is so much hostility toward mj,the stigma of the 60's should be over with.
And if suffering can be stopped with mj,and the doctor knows more than judges,why why why prevent them from using it?
Hopefully, within our lifetimes, marijuana will become legal, perhaps with a constitutional ammendment, and we can put an end to this mess.
I have a strong sense of justice, so I think it would be great if the politicians and overzealous prosecutors who opposed legalizing marijuana were forced to pay damages to all of the victims of these absurd laws, ex post facto, for having violated their individual rights, but I know that that's just a fantasy.
You'll hear many people say that pot is legal in Amsterdam. This is not strictly true. There are numerous restrictions on where and how it may be sold. It's not the Dutch way to go around telling people how to live their lives, and that helps, too, from the other side.
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To those who've characterized her as old, she's 41.
And while I agree with those who think it's a big waste of the court's time and taxpayer's money to be involved in this (let the doctors decide) the decision I read was only that she's not immune from prosecution, have there been reports that she will actually be prosecuted?
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