Freedom Lawyers of America

US Court Protects Doctors Who Recommend Marijuana
Tue Oct 29, 5:49 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Doctors who recommend medical marijuana to
sick patients cannot be stripped of their licenses to prescribe drugs
even though marijuana is banned by federal law, a federal appeals
court ruled on Tuesday.

In a decision hailed as a breakthrough by medical marijuana
advocates, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court
ruling which protects the constitutional right of doctors to
recommend medical marijuana.
"An integral component of the practice of medicine is the
communication between a doctor and a patient," the appeals court's
three-judge panel said in its unanimous ruling.
"Being a member of a regulated profession does not, as the government
suggests, result in a surrender of First Amendment rights."
Federal officials have maintained a tough line against medical
marijuana, taking action against medical marijuana providers even
though nine states, including California, permit medical use of the
drug under state law.
After lengthy litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites)
ruled last year that clubs formed to provide marijuana to sick
patients were breaking federal law, and law enforcement officials
have gone after several such groups in recent months.
The 9th Circuit, which disagreed with the Supreme Court on the
viability of California's medical marijuana law, said on Tuesday that
doctors who "recommend" -- rather than formally prescribe -- medical
marijuana were simply exercising their free speech rights and should
not be punished.
"The record is replete with examples of doctors who claim a right to
explain the medical benefits of marijuana to patients and whose
exercise of that right has been chilled by the threat of federal
investigation," the court said.
The court further rejected the government's assertion that, by
recommending medical marijuana, doctors were inviting their patients
to break the law, noting that there are legal ways patients might
seek marijuana, such as through a government-approved research
project or attempting to persuade the federal government to change
the marijuana laws.
Medical marijuana advocates, who say the drug can help patients who
are suffering nausea from chemotherapy, appetite loss from AIDS
(news - web sites) or chronic pain from multiple sclerosis, said the
decision was a major victory.
"Today's ruling is a major victory for patients and doctors," Gina
Palencar, policy director of Americans for Medical Rights, said in a
statement.
"With physician-patient communications protected, patients in nine
states can assert their rights to use marijuana as medicine."