NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS
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. . . a weekly service for the media on news items related to Marijuana
Prohibition.
                              January 16, 1997
     Class Action Suit Blocking Federal Sanctions Against Physicians Who
             Recommend Medical Marijuana Filed In Federal Court
      January 14, 1996, Los Angeles, California:  A group of physicians and
patients filed a class action suit in federal court in San Francisco seeking
an injunction to prevent federal officials from taking any punitive action
against physicians who recommend the medical use of marijuana to their
patients in compliance with California law.
      The lawsuit is a direct response to the Clinton administration's
December 30 announcement of its plan to oppose the implementation of
Proposition 215 by threatening California doctors with a wide range of
punishments if they recommend medical marijuana.  The defendants in the suit
are: Gen. Barry McCaffrey, Director of White House Drug Control Policy;
Thomas Constantine, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration; Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States; and Donna
Shalala, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Representing the plaintiffs are the San Francisco law firm of Altshuler,
Berzon, Nussbaum, Berzon & Rubin and the American Civil Liberties Union of
Northern California.
      Graham Boyd, an attorney with the firm said, "Our view is that the
federal effort to gag physicians is blatantly unconstitutional. Discussions
between a physician and patient about the risks and benefits of medical
marijuana constitute protected speech under the First Amendment."
      Dr. Marcus Conant, a San Francisco specialist in AIDS treatment and
the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit said, "The federal government has
threatened me and doctors like me with dire consequences simply for
discussing medical marijuana with my patients.  My colleagues and I have
seen marijuana work to relieve nausea and stimulate appetite where other
drugs fail, and scores of studies support our observations."
      The lawsuit was filed by Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights, a
group of about 150 doctors who treat AIDS; Being Alive, an organization of
people with AIDS or the AIDS virus; nine individual physicians, and four
patients -- including former San Francisco police commissioner Jo Daly.
      "The federal government has no right to interfere with the privileged
relationship between a seriously ill patient and his or her physician," said
NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre.
      For more information, please contact Dave Fratello of Americans for
Medical Rights (AMR) @ (310) 394-2952 or Allen St. Pierre of NORML @ (202)
483-5500.
    New Hampshire Legislator Introduces Marijuana Decriminalization Bill
      January 16, 1996, Concord, New Hampshire:  A bill has been introduced
in the New Hampshire state legislature (H.B. 118-FN) that would reduce the
penalty for possession of less than one and one-half ounces of marijuana
from a class A misdemeanor to a violation.  The measure was introduced by
Rep. Tim Robertson (18th-District) and four co-sponsors.
      Under current state law, possession of marijuana is punishable by a
one-year sentence and/or $1,000 fine.  Under this new measure, individuals
possessing small amounts of marijuana would receive a ticket and a small
fine.
      NORML Legal Committee Member Michael Cutler, Esq. of Boston,
Massachusetts, has been working with Rep. Robertson in support of the
legislation.  Cutler said that he expects the bill to be referred to a study
committee before being voted on by the legislature.
      For more information, please contact R. Keith Stroup or Allen St.
Pierre of NORML @ (202) 483-5500.  Rep. Robertson may be reached @ (603)
271-3529. Attorney Michael Cutler may be contacted @ (617) 439-4990.
             California Doctor Threatens Drug Czar With Lawsuit
      January 10, 1996, Washington, D.C.:  California physician Tod
Mikuriya is demanding a formal retraction from Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey
over statements made during a December 30 press conference.  At the
conference, during which Clinton administration officials threatened to
prosecute doctors who recommend or prescribe marijuana to seriously ill
patients under state law, McCaffrey falsely identified Dr. Mikuriya as the
"Medical Advisor" for Proposition 215 and held him up to ridicule by
implying that he had recommended marijuana for the treatment of a number of
trivial ailments such as recalling "forgotten memories," "writer's cramp,"
and the "removal of corns."
      Mikuriya denies that he has ever recommended that a patient use
marijuana for those specific purposes and said that McCaffrey's statement's
were derived from a draft of a proposed book he is writing on all of
marijuana's possible and claimed uses historically.  On January 10, Attorney
Rufus King of the Washington, D.C. law firm Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe,
L.L.P., delivered a letter to the Drug Czar's office asking for a
clarification, apology, and appropriate retraction.  "Apparently you were
referring to a draft of a proposed book I circulated for comment a few
months ago, but every word of your reference, and your reference to me, was
dishonest, and I charge knowingly so," wrote Mikuriya.  "You simply ignored
the clear context of what I was saying, which you could not have overlooked
in good faith.
      "This gross damage to me, my reputation and my medical practice is
obvious," Mikuriya continued.  "I demand a[n] ... apology ... in a venue and
context equivalent to the initial publication."
      If McCaffrey fails to respond to Dr. Mikuriya's request by January
20, Mikuriya says that he will take legal action against him.
      For more information, please contact Dr. Tod Mikuriya @ (510)
843-0279 or Attorney Rufus King of Berliner, Corcoran, & Rowe, L.L.P. @
(202) 293-5555 ext. 340.
      Court Ruling Allows San Francisco Cannabis Buyers' Club To Reopen
      January 15, 1996, San Francisco, CA:  Citing the recent passage of
Proposition 215, a Superior Court judge authorized the not-for-profit
cultivation and sale of marijuana for medical purposes by the San Francisco
Buyers' Club.  The club's founder, Dennis Peron, and five others still face
felony marijuana charges stemming from the August 4 raid by state law
enforcement on the nearly 12,000 member club.  Peron reopened the club, now
known as the San Francisco Cultivators' Club, on Wednesday.
      Judge David A. Garcia lifted a five month injunction on the club on
January 8 despite objections from California Attorney General Dan Lungren.
The judge made it clear that his ruling applied only to the San Francisco
Club and would have no legal force outside of the city.  He also mandated
that the sale of marijuana be strictly non-profit for legitimate medicinal
purposes.  Citing the passage of Proposition 215, Garcia stated, "The people
of California have spoken [and] I don't think [Dan Lungren] or I are going
to say that the people of California were ineffectual."
      "This is the first time that a ruling permitting the cultivation of
marijuana for medical patients has ever been handed down by a judicial
officer," said Attorney David Nick, counsel for Peron.
      "It feels like a victory," Peron told reporters during a
ribbon-cutting ceremony held to mark the reopening of the club.  "I've never
seen my name with marijuana that wasn't on an indictment."
      Peron added that the new club is taking precautions to limit
membership to only those who possess a doctor's recommendation for a
legitimate medical illness.  The club says it will verify the legitimacy of
the doctor by checking the state medical board's registry of Northern
California physicians.  The club will also contact the doctor for an oral
confirmation.  Members will also be given computer-generated ID cards with a
photo and unique ID number.
      Peron maintained that data on physicians who recommend marijuana to
their patients will not be kept on the premises.  "No matter what happens,
we're going to protect our doctors," said Peron.  "If the club is raided,
our doctors will be safe."
      For more information, please contact Dennis Peron of Californians for
Compassionate Use @ (415) 621-3986 or Dale Gieringer of California NORML @
(415) 563-5858.
                                    -END-
  MORE THAN 10 MILLION MARIJUANA ARRESTS SINCE 1965 . . . ANOTHER EVERY 54
                                  SECONDS!
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