|
Colo. Court Rules Cannabis Patients
on Probation Can't Use Medicine
For immediate release, Feb. 6, 2012
Contact: Legalize2012.com
Phone: 1-877-420-4205
Email: info@legalize2012.com
Web: http://www.Legalize2012.com/
Colo. Court Rules Cannabis Patients on Probation Can't Use Medicine
{Denver} -- The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled on 2/2/12 that
medical marijuana patients on who are on probation should not be
allowed to use cannabis as medicine.
This ruling is a huge blow to medical marijuana patients statewide,
many of whom will be forced off of their safe, effective and natural
cannabis medicine and forced to use dangerous and expensive pharmaceutical
alternatives. For many patients, cannabis is the *only* medicine
that works for them, especially for patients who are using cannabis
as a non-toxic alternative therapy to treat their cancer.
Previously, probation departments across Colorado had wide discretion
into whether or not a patient on probation would be allowed to use
their medicinal cannabis. With the Court of Appeals ruling, the
ability of probation officers to address individual patient situations
on a case-by-case basis has been eliminated and replaced with a
statewide "Zero Tolerance" policy for medical cannabis
use and probation.
The case is People v. Watkins (Court of Appeals No. 10CA0579).
You can read
the full opinion here:
http://www.cobar.org/opinions/opinion.cfm?opinionid=8371&courtid=1
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that, since people on probation
in Colorado are required to refrain from committing further offenses
while on probation, the use of medical marijuana cannot be allowed,
since marijuana is illegal under *federal* law. The Court of Appeals
case comes, not
surprisingly, out of Arapahoe County District Court where prohibitionist
District Attorney Carol Chambers once threatened to prosecute patients
if they testified at a trial on the Centennial medical marijuana
ban.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14030017
The Court also cited a 2011 ruling in the case of Beinor v. ICAO,
which stated that the authors of Colorado's medical marijuana law
failed to establish a "right" to medical marijuana use.
http://www.cobar.org/opinions/opinion.cfm?opinionid=8188&courtid=1
THE SOLUTION: CANNABIS RE-LEGALIZATION ACT
The Cannabis Re-Legalization Act citizen's ballot initiative, which
was also filed on 2/2/12, would solve this problem by replacing
the flawed language of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Amendment with
a broader and better-written law. First, the Cannabis Re-Legalization
Act makes cannabis use a fundamental Constitutional right for Colorado
citizens. Then, the Cannabis Re-Legalization Act protects all cannabis
users by prohibiting the government from punishing them or denying
them any right or privilege for their cannabis use.
We feel strongly that, in order to protect patients, cannabis must
be legal for all citizens. It is only through full legalization
that medical cannabis patients will no longer be singled out as
a second class of citizens. The Cannabis Re-Legalization Act also
requires state Attorney General John Suthers to file lawsuits against
the federal government to stop their enforcement of federal marijuana
prohibition laws, something he currently refuses to do.
SIGN THE PETITION!
Sign the virtual petition online:
http://www.Legalize2012.com
SPREAD THE WORD!
Copy and share this link everywhere:
"Legalize Marijuana in Colorado: Sign the Petition!"
http://www.Legalize2012.com
DONATE ONLINE!
http://www.Legalize2012.com/donate.html
KNOW YOUR BALLOT INITIATIVES:
The Cannabis Re-Legalization Act is NOT Initiative #30. Educate
yourself about the differences between the "over-regulation
and prohibitive taxes" model vs the "true legalization"
model.
http://www.Legalize2012.com/mpp/
Please, forward and repost this message.
|
