U.S. judge won't remove marijuana from most-dangerous drug list

[touchstone]

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-marijuana-ruling-20150415-story.html

Efforts to legalize marijuana suffered a defeat in court Wednesday when a judge upheld the constitutionality of a 1970 federal law that classifies cannabis as a dangerous drug akin to LSD and heroin.

U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller, announcing her decision at a hearing in Sacramento, said she could not lightly overturn a law passed by Congress.
Mueller agreed last year to hold an extensive fact-finding hearing on the issue, raising the hopes of activists seeking to legalize marijuana and worrying opponents who consider the drug a threat to health and public safety. The hearing marked the first time in decades that a judge was willing to examine the classification of marijuana under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.

The Schedule 1 classification is for drugs that have no medicinal purpose, are unsafe even under medical supervision and contain a high potential for abuse. In addition to marijuana, heroin and LSD, other Schedule 1 drugs include Ecstasy and mescaline.


Mueller, an Obama appointee, announced her decision before issuing a written ruling, which is still pending. She considered the constitutionality of the classification in response to a pretrial motion brought by lawyers defending accused marijuana growers.

“At some point in time, a court may decide this status to be unconstitutional,” Mueller was quoted as saying on leafonline.com, a pro-marijuana blog that has been covering the case. “But this is not the court and not the time.”

Dale Gieringer, director of the California branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said Mueller’s decision could not be appealed until after the criminal case against the growers was resolved. A trial is not expected until late this year or early next year.

“This is on a very slow train,” Gieringer said.

He said Mueller remarked that much has changed since marijuana’s classification but “a lower court judge has to follow the law.” He said last year’s hearing “showed the dysfunctionality of the current drug laws.”

Because of marijuana's Schedule 1 status, federal restrictions make it difficult for researchers to obtain legal cannabis for study, advocates say.


L praised Mueller for “having the courage to hear this issue and provide it the careful consideration it deserves.”

"While we are disappointed with this ruling, it changes little,” said Paul Armentano, NORML’s deputy director. “We always felt this had to ultimately be decided by the 9th Circuit and we have an unprecedented record for the court to consider.”

Scott Chipman, Southern California chairman of a Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, said he was pleased with the ruling but found it “disturbing” that Mueller had even conducted a fact-finding hearing on the issue.

“There is a false sense that marijuana legalization is on the move, when we are seeing a huge pushback against legalization, particularly in small towns across the country,” Chipman said. “It is a seriously harmful drug that is much stronger than it was in the ’70s and is getting stronger by the month.”

U.S. Atty. Benjamin B. Wagner, whose office is prosecuting the marijuana growers, said he was pleased with Mueller’s decision.

The question before the judge, he said, “was not whether marijuana should be legalized for medical or recreational use, but whether decisions concerning the status of marijuana under federal law should properly be made in accordance with the science-based scheduling process set forth in the Controlled Substances Act passed by Congress.”

Seriously?

 

[Smoblikat]

Cocaine is a schedule 2 drug, while weed is schedule 1.

These are the people running our country.........

 

[cabri]

Any action a Federal Judge does would only be within their jurisdiction.
The law itself is not broken; just an inconvenience for some.

And she is right - the law is by Congress and Congress can address/fix the issue.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Cocaine is a schedule 2 drug, while weed is schedule 1.

These are the people running our country.........

To be fair, cocaine was originally developed for medical purposes and has a much longer history as a drug with clearly-established medical applications. More recent research has revealed a ton of medical applications for marijuana, but the federal government was able to bury its head in the sand about that for decades - it did not have the same luxury with cocaine (or opiate narcotics).

 

[Sonikku]

Congress passed a broken law. Seems like it should be on Congress to fix it. Not a Judge.

 

[Ns1]

i am saddened but not surprised.

 

[PokerGuy]

Congress passed a broken law. Seems like it should be on Congress to fix it. Not a Judge.

This. Whether you think it should be legal, schedule 1, schedule 2, whatever isn't relevant. The judge basically said there's nothing unconstitutional about the fact that it was classified as sched 1 under a law passed by congress and signed by the president.

The law can be changed or those encharged with classification can change it, but it doesn't make sense for a judge to deem a classification "unconstitutional" just because there's disagreement over what classification (if any) is appropriate.

 

[hal2kilo]

You can be certain that Congress will do zip sqwat about this situation between now and the 2016 elections.

 

[PokerGuy]

You can be certain that Congress will do zip qwat about this situation between now and the 2016 elections.

I agree with you on that one, but I don't agree with those who wanted the 'fix' to be a judicial ruling. The fix is to change the law or classification, not for some judge to arbitrarily rule a particular classification as unconstitutional.

 

[piasabird]

My niece was arrested near Kansas City with a quantity of MJ in her car when they pulled her over for speeding. She was given 5 years in Prison. She was buying the MJ or delivering it for some one else after purchasing it in a state that legalized MJ. However, different states use different laws and some states enforce the federal laws.

I don't want to encourage people to do illegal drugs or use mind altering drugs without a valid reason. I don't even want the government to control and tax MJ, cigarettes or Alcoholic beverages.

Next they will put sugar on that list.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Wow Scott Chipman is a super douche.

 

[TechBoyJK]

“There is a false sense that marijuana legalization is on the move, when we are seeing a huge pushback against legalization, particularly in small towns across the country,” Chipman said. “It is a seriously harmful drug that is much stronger than it was in the ’70s and is getting stronger by the month.”

That's just outright hilarious. From the Onion? Nope. Just a stark reminder of how brainwashed and delusional drug warriors are.

Suggesting 'marijuana is stronger' now than it was in the 70's flat out shows his ignorant hand. That's like me saying 'alcohol is stronger now than it was 20 years ago'.

Oh yea? What kind of alcohol? Who brewed it? What's the THC rating on it? There's marijuana being grown now that's less potent than ever. It's all due to regulation and proper market influence. The same thing this guy is trying to stop.

The man has a fundamental misunderstanding on how marijuana works, and here he is on his 'high' horse. What a clown.

 

[Jhhnn]

Cannabis prohibition was not then and is not now a fact based proposition.

It's not really much different today. Ongoing state level legalization will eventually force Congress to act, just as it has wrt MMJ.

 

[touchstone]

Why should only congress have a part in fixing this?
Congress is universally understood to be the least effective and most corrupt part of the legislative branch. They have a 13% approval rating but they are republican so of course, we should run every decision by them. Nothing can be done without congress because "they made the law"? Poker Guy, you have zero idea what you are talking about. That law is 100% unconstitutional. If congress passes a law making broccoli illegal, let's say because congress thinks 'illegals' use it, that is not automatically constitutional just because congress does it.


This judge just prolonged the suffering of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans. In my mind that is treason and she should be charged for her clear complicity in propping up the police state and the drug war under the guise of "protecting the constitution".

This is criminal.

 

[TechBoyJK]

My niece was arrested near Kansas City with a quantity of MJ in her car when they pulled her over for speeding. She was given 5 years in Prison. She was buying the MJ or delivering it for some one else after purchasing it in a state that legalized MJ. However, different states use different laws and some states enforce the federal laws.

I don't want to encourage people to do illegal drugs or use mind altering drugs without a valid reason. I don't even want the government to control and tax MJ, cigarettes or Alcoholic beverages.

Next they will put sugar on that list.

Sugar is a hell of a lot worse for society than marijuana ever could be. More damage is done to society every week from sugar than an entire decade of pot use.

 

[unokitty]

DEA Agents Attend Cartel Funded Sex Parties. Then, use US Government Money to buy prostitutes for Regional Director's Going Away Party

The report described accusations from foreign police officers that D.E.A. agents had attended “loud” parties with prostitutes over several years, paid for by local drug cartels. The parties reportedly took place in locations leased by the government where agents’ laptops and other electronic devices were present. The foreign officers also said they had watched over the agents’ weapons and other property during the parties.

Three agents were also accused of receiving money, expensive gifts and weapons from drug cartel members, the report said.

On one occasion, an assistant regional director reportedly solicited prostitutes for a farewell party in his honor, an allegation he denied during an investigation by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility; he was not disciplined because of a lack of evidence, the investigation found. The party and the prostitutes were said to have been paid for using government money.

Drug War is big business. DEA gets free sex parties. Lawyers and judges make millions. Private prison system make out like bandits... And the DEA's director testifies before congress that she can't fire the DEA agents just because they used government money to party with prostitutes ...

Citizens think that the 'Drug Warriors' and their cronies are going to give up all that money just because the citizens want them too?

LOL

Uno

 

[HTFOff]

Pot is not as benign as some make it out to be. That said, there isn't a reason good enough as to why an adult should not be able to smoke how much they want, or grow how much they want in the confines of their home and on their property.

 

[BoberFett]

I'd argue that all federal drug laws are unconstitutional, but enough people love big, powerful centralized government with the ability to do anything it wants, and bad drug law is one of the unintended consequences.

 

[Jhhnn]

I agree with you on that one, but I don't agree with those who wanted the 'fix' to be a judicial ruling. The fix is to change the law or classification, not for some judge to arbitrarily rule a particular classification as unconstitutional.

Heh. I suppose you disagree with Clinton, GWB & Obama failing to enforce federal law wrt MMJ, & now Obama wrt legalization.

Had that not happened, the time it would get fixed is.... never. The federal bureaucracy has never intended to move in that direction & Congress will do nothing until slapped up the side of their cocksuckers with public sentiment & more successful legalization at the state level.

Retail pot shops in DC would pretty much do it, I figure. Expect assploding heads from right wing pundits when that happens.

 

[Subyman]

More lives have been ruined by the government demonizing and cracking down on users than weed itself has ever done.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Why should only congress have a part in fixing this?
Congress is universally understood to be the least effective and most corrupt part of the legislative branch. They have a 13% approval rating but they are republican so of course, we should run every decision by them. Nothing can be done without congress because "they made the law"? Poker Guy, you have zero idea what you are talking about. That law is 100% unconstitutional. If congress passes a law making broccoli illegal, let's say because congress thinks 'illegals' use it, that is not automatically constitutional just because congress does it.


This judge just prolonged the suffering of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Americans. In my mind that is treason and she should be charged for her clear complicity in propping up the police state and the drug war under the guise of "protecting the constitution".

This is criminal.

Absolutely. What saddens me most is that marijuana is now known to be at the bottom of harmful drugs by the majority of people, and the politicians know it too. Yet they are destroying homes, families and children's lives by allowing this atrocity to continue. When they finally pull back and say "oops, our bad", not only will those who have been trampled on be forgotten with the hoopla of legalization, but also they will have not been compensated for the time, detention, torture, confiscation and all other physical or emotional traumas associated with enforcement of unrighteous laws. These laws have and still have a vary wide and rippling effect on our society that we need to change ASAP.

And I agree that Congress is not the approval one should look for. Look for your own.

 

[touchstone]

Absolutely. What saddens me most is that marijuana is now known to be at the bottom of harmful drugs by the majority of people, and the politicians know it too. Yet they are destroying homes, families and children's lives by allowing this atrocity to continue. When they finally pull back and say "oops, our bad", not only will those who have been trampled on be forgotten with the hoopla of legalization, but also they will have not been compensated for the time, detention, torture, confiscation and all other physical or emotional traumas associated with enforcement of unrighteous laws. These laws have and still have a vary wide and rippling effect on our society that we need to change ASAP.



And I agree that Congress is not the approval one should look for. Look for your own.

There's just no sense to looking at what congress did in 1937, which was totally unconstitutional, and limiting ourselves to only using congress to rectify a situation that everyone knows is messed up all around.

The worst part is if you corner the supporters of this kind of crap they will admit that it's not a "dangerous drug". It's just economically convenient for them.

 

[OutHouse]

That's just outright hilarious. From the Onion? Nope. Just a stark reminder of how brainwashed and delusional drug warriors are.

Suggesting 'marijuana is stronger' now than it was in the 70's flat out shows his ignorant hand. That's like me saying 'alcohol is stronger now than it was 20 years ago'.

Oh yea? What kind of alcohol? Who brewed it? What's the THC rating on it? There's marijuana being grown now that's less potent than ever. It's all due to regulation and proper market influence. The same thing this guy is trying to stop.

The man has a fundamental misunderstanding on how marijuana works, and here he is on his 'high' horse. What a clown.

speaking of ignorance, it is a proven fact,pot is way stronger today.

The average potency of pot has more than tripled in the past two decades, according to testing done for the federal government.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/pot-getting-potent/

The marijuana used today is stronger than it used to be, but not as strong as has been written in some media reports (claiming marijuana is 30 times stronger today than during the 1970s). Depending on how analysis was conducted and the sample analyzed, marijuana strength has increased by 2 to 7 times since the 1970s, measured by THC levels.
http://adai.uw.edu/marijuana/factsheets/potency.htm

 

[OutHouse]

My niece was arrested near Kansas City with a quantity of MJ in her car when they pulled her over for speeding. She was given 5 years in Prison. She was buying the MJ or delivering it for some one else after purchasing it in a state that legalized MJ. However, different states use different laws and some states enforce the federal laws.

I don't want to encourage people to do illegal drugs or use mind altering drugs without a valid reason. I don't even want the government to control and tax MJ, cigarettes or Alcoholic beverages.

Next they will put sugar on that list.

how much pot did she try to mule? you dont get 5 years in the can for a blunt.

 

[kage69]

To be fair, cocaine was originally developed for medical purposes and has a much longer history as a drug with clearly-established medical applications.

I remember seeing examples of medicine bottles from long ago at a small N.E. museum once. Pretty freaky to see how many of them listed cocaine as an ingredient. Were our great parents always tweaking or what? Lots of snake oil back then, but I heard some were actually quite effective with migraines, cramps, etc. As I understand it the booger sugar is still the paralytic compound of choice for some surgeons who work on very delicate nerves and organs, eyes for example. It's good we are able to take advantage of it and make people's lives better with that knowledge. I must say it's strange to hear social authoritarians and holy rollers acknowledge that, then go right on to get indignant and frothy about medical marijuana being a crock of shit and clearly the beginning of The End of America As We Know It.

Medicinal worth aside, to have something completely non-toxic rated as more dangerous than cocaine makes absolutely no sense to me. Likewise for the excuses about the need to ward away 'social evils' and negative behavior some associate with cannabis; the legality of alcohol, despite it's status of most damaging vice to bodies and society at large, completely destroys that argument.


I understand the judge's concerns regarding laws and Congress, but with science, common sense, and overwhelming public support on the side of legalization, she strikes me as a judge giving in to personal convictions. I think a truly objective decider would find it hard to go along with cultural and political dogma in lieu of public sentiment, science, and common sense. Too bad our leaders are largely more concerned with maintaining the status quo and getting paid then they are with fixing nonsensical laws and problems of our own creation. I'd prefer it if the anti-mj politicians and judges educated themselves and got with the times, but I think we're going to be seeing stupid like this until they die out. One more generation flip to go...