== Forwarded Message Follows =========================================
From: "Carl E. Olsen" 
Subject: AMR Press Release
Americans for Medical Rights
626 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 41
Santa Monica, CA 90401-2538
phone: (310) 394-2952 fax: (310) 451-7494
PRESS RELEASE                                           Dave Fratello
December 23, 1996                          104730.1000@compuserve.com
PROP. 215 COURT FIGHT WOULD END GEN. McCAFFREY'S
WAR AGAINST CALIFORNIA DOCTORS BEFORE IT STARTS
    SANTA MONICA, December 23 - A patients' rights organization today vowed
to support action in federal court to halt a White House plan to target
doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients.  The plan, outlined in
today's New York Times, was submitted to President Clinton Friday by drug
czar Barry McCaffrey.
    Dave Fratello, a spokesman for Americans for Medical Rights, which
supported Prop. 215, said, "General McCaffrey's plan to attack California
doctors as a means of thwarting Prop. 215 is cowardly and heartless.
President Clinton should reject the plan, if he values the support of
California voters."
    Fratello continued, "However, since that is unlikely, a group of
physicians will soon file a lawsuit to halt General McCaffrey in his tracks.
The voters did not ask for a war on doctors.  They called upon government
officials to respect the rights of patients and doctors who are involved
with the medical use of marijuana.  If General McCaffrey must be ordered by
the federal courts to obey the will of the people, so be it."
    McCaffrey's plan has as its centerpiece an overt threat against any
California physician who recommends marijuana to a patient.  Federal
agencies will try to revoke prescription licenses for such doctors,
officials told the Times, and may also prosecute doctors for "conspiring" to
distribute drugs.  The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will seek out
such doctors, chief Thomas Constantine said, and "[W]e are going to take
very, very serious action against them."
    For the time being, says AMR, such threats could severely restrict
physicians who know marijuana can be beneficial from sharing such
information with their patients. Fratello said, "What the federal government
is saying to AIDS patients, cancer patients and others in California is,
when you go to the doctor, don't expect to hear the full range of options.
Your doctor has been gagged by Barry McCaffrey."
NO COURT CHALLENGE BY GOVERNMENT A 'VICTORY'
    After months of warnings that Prop. 215 conflicts with federal law,
McCaffrey's plan concedes that Prop. 215 is not subject to a court challenge
by the federal government.  By contrast, last week the U.S. Justice
Department joined a lawsuit challenging Prop. 209.
    In reaction, Fratello said, "It is a real victory to know that Prop. 215
itself will not go to court.  We have said all along that the law is not
unconstitutional and that it is not pre-empted by federal law.  The lack of
a federal government court action is a vindication."
    "But today we're saying, instead, the federal government will be
challenged in court," Fratello said.  "We will not let the government get
away with trying to thwart the implementation of Prop. 215 by inserting
narcotics agents into the doctor-patient relationship."
    McCaffrey's plan envisions the federal government using its powers under
the Controlled Substances Act to punish physicians for "prescribing"
marijuana inappropriately, since it is not approved by the federal
government for medical use.  However, Prop. 215 does not require physicians
to prescribe marijuana, it requires only a written or verbal
"recommendation," subject to court scrutiny if a patient is arrested and
uses Prop. 215 as a defense.
    Prop. 215 supporters argue that marijuana recommendations made in
doctor-patient consultations are protected speech.  The First Amendment,
advocates say, protects physicians who might recommend marijuana, and
guarantees patients the right to hear a medical opinion that marijuana may
be beneficial to them.
    Several legal options are currently being weighed, including: seeking a
declaratory judgment of physicians' right to recommend marijuana under Prop.
215's auspices, or seeking an injunction or restraining order against the
DEA and Justice Department to prevent actions against California physicians.
###
http://www.prop215.org
Iowans for Medical Marijuana o Post Office Box 4091 o Des Moines, Iowa 50333
http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/MEDICAL
***********************************************************************
*  Carl E. Olsen                *  carl@commonlink.net                *
*  Post Office Box 4091         *  NORML News archived at:            *
*  Des Moines, Iowa 50333       *  http://www.calyx.com/~olsen/       *
*  (515) 262-6957 voice & fax   *  http://www.commonlink.com/~olsen/  *
***********************************************************************
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