Marijuana prescribers protected

Judge Rules License Cannot Be Revoked

SAN FRANCISCO - The federal government cannot penalize California
doctors who recommend marijuana under the state's medical marijuana law
by revoking their prescription licenses, a federal judge has ruled.

Yesterday's order by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup came a
month after the federal government said it would resist California's
law, known as Proposition 215, which was passed by referendum.

Alsup wrote that the Department of Justice is permanently prohibited
from revoking licenses to dispense medication "merely because the
doctor recommends medical marijuana to a patient based on a sincere
medical judgment, and from initiating any investigation solely on that
ground."

His order applies even if "the physician anticipates that the
recommendation will, in turn, be used by the patient to obtain
marijuana in violation of federal law."

"We really cannot comment this evening," said Department of Justice
spokes-woman Gretchen Michael.

The ruling could have broad implications for states with similar laws.
It was the latest development in a conflict between federal narcotics
laws and the California initiative, approved by voters in 1996.

The state initiative permits seriously ill patients to grow and use
marijuana for pain relief with a doctor's recommendation. But under
federal law, marijuana has no medical purposes and cannot be
administered safely under medical supervision.

Initiatives similar to California's have been passed in Alaska,
Arizona, Hawai'i, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the suit, said the
government's position violated doctors' free speech rights, and that
many were reluctant to recommend pot for fear of losing their federal
right to prescribe medication.