[420 Girl]

Four Orange County medical marijuana users who argue that bans on pot clinics in Costa Mesa and Lake Forest violate the Americans with Disabilities Act on Friday appealed their case to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Matthew Pappas, the Mission Viejo attorney representing the users, said he believes the case has a chance of succeeding this time around because of his interpretation of the equal protection clause in the 5th Amendment based on a 2009 Congressional decision to lift a longtime ban on medical marijuana in Washington, D.C.

Pappas also argues that the disabled have the right to use marijuana under the disabilities act with a doctor’s supervision. The attorney represents four plaintiffs.

“We’re doing everything that we can for the patients, and that’s what’s really important, is the patients,” said Marla James, one of four patients represented by Pappas. “And it’s for someone like me who lives in an apartment to be able to access my medicine through legal avenues rather than buying it in a back ally from a cartel member.”

U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Guilford in April rejected Pappas’ argument that the cities’ policies against dispensaries conflict with the plaintiffs’ rights to access public services, saying that the federal ADA law does not allow patients to use marijuana, even patients in California with authorization from their doctors.

But a change of a policy by Congress has opened the door for new legal arguments, Pappas said.

Congress last year lifted a longtime ban on medical marijuana in Washington, D.C., making it legal for dispensaries to operate for medical patients. As a result, the district recently passed a law allowing dispensaries to operate within its jurisdiction.

James, who uses marijuana for pain from nerve damage from a surgery that removed her lower abdomen after contracting flesh-eating bacteria, said she believes they will win the appeal.

“The way Matt will be arguing this with the 9th circuit hasn’t been done before,” she said.

The state views medical marijuana differently. In 1996, voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, making the use and cultivation of marijuana legal for those battling chronic diseases, cancer and other serious illnesses.

Since then, permitting or banning marijuana dispensaries throughout California has rested with individual city governments. Some cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have allowed the dispensaries while others, such as Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, have forbidden them.

Nevertheless, clinics in Costa Mesa and Lake Forest continue to operate.

Since February, the city has been enforcing its 2005 law by going after marijuana dispensaries operating in the city. In some cases, police made arrests for sales and possessions, and in other, 48-hour cease and desist orders were issued.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Daily Pilot
Author: Mona Shadia
Contact: Daily Pilot
Copyright: 2010 Daily Pilot
Website: Medical marijuana users challenging federal court ruling


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