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Medical Marijuana Clubs In California Can Legally Distribute To Some Patients
Oakland, CA: U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer modified a 1998 injunction this Monday against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative that will now allow the group to legally distribute marijuana to seriously ill patients who qualify for a medical necessity defense.
Last September, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered Breyer to reconsider his injunction against the OCBC and consider "the criteria for a medical necessity exemption," under federal law. The following month, the U.S. Justice Department asked the 9th Circuit to reconsider that decision, and the court refused.
"The government continues to press arguments which the 9th Circuit rejected, including the argument that the court must find that enjoining the distribution of cannabis to seriously ill individuals is in the public interest because Congress has prohibited such conduct in favor of the administrative process regulating the approval and distribution of drugs," Breyer wrote in modifying his injunction. "As a result of the government's failure to offer any new evidence in opposition to defendants' motion, and in light of the Ninth Circuit's opinion, the Court must conclude that modifying the injunction as requested is in the public interest and exercise its equitable discretion to do so."
"We applaud the wisdom of the judicial branch of government which now recognizes what the citizens of every state already know, that sick patients should have legal access to the medicine they need," said Robert Raich, Esq., attorney for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative.
NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup said it is important that patients in California understand that the criteria required to qualify for the medical necessity defense in federal court are different from, and far more difficult to meet, than the requirements of Proposition 215.
"Many patients protected from state prosecution by Proposition 215 will still be vulnerable to a misguided federal prosecutor who chooses to initiate a federal prosecution," Stroup said. "Nonetheless, this is still a major victory for patients in California."
For more information, please contact Robert Raich, Esq., at (510) 338-0700 or Keith Stroup, NORML Executive Director at (202) 483-5500.