#85 Jan/Feb 2007
The Washington Free Press Washington's Independent Journal of News, Ideas & Culture
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TOP STORIES

Instant Runoff Voting OKed in Pierce County
The same ballot reform wins in every contest nationwide
by Steven Hill

Is it safe to buy a home in Washington?
Home inspectors are not required to report toxic mold
by T. McCormick

15 myths about global warming
by Doug Collins
cartoons by George Jartos

FIRST WORDS

READER MAIL
Bushco Propaganda, Mountain Time, Impeachment
cartoon by David Logan

Oops!
defects corrected from last issue

NORTHWEST & BEYOND
Mass die-offs of alpine trees; American businesses protest labor rights in China

FREE THOUGHTS

Should we save or spend?
Politicians tell us to spend, economists tell us to save
by Jim Sullivan

Viaduct Politics
Seattle needs a "Transit + Streets" option
opinion by Cary Moon and Julie Parrett

War abroad, crime at home
Just why do crime stats rise when the country is at war?
by Doug Collins
cartoon by Andrew Wahl

HEALTH

The contaminated cigarette cartel
The major health risk is not tobacco, but industrial substances in cigarettes
article and cartoons by John Jonik

Medical Marijuana Scores Major Win
Court upholds California measures
from the ACLU
cartoon by John Jonik

MILITARY

Watada hearing tackles free speech for soldiers, relevance of truth
article and photo by Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist

NASA plans moon base to control pathway to space
from Global Network

Keeping America safe
Themes from the Federal Register
by David Ortman

ENVIRONMENT

Reducing Extravagance
There are many ways--some surprising--to address climate change
by Doug Collins

Glaciers: coming or going?
by Doug Collins

FILM REVIEW
An Inconvenient Truth
review by Demian

TRASH TALK
Wintertime savings
by Dave & Lillian Brummet

MEDIA

MEDIA BEAT
Is the USA the center of the world?
by Norman Solomon
cartoon by George Jartos

Chavez wins Time reader vote, but is shunned by editors
by John Jonik

POLITICS

Let's have public funding for public elections in WA
opinion by Robert Stern, Washington Public Campaigns

Immigration reform: finally?
by Domenico Maceri
cartoon by George Jartos

RIGHT BRAIN

BOOK REVIEW
Spanning Washington
Historic Highway Bridges of the Evergreen State
review by Robert Pavlik

Two poems by Bob Markey
The Old Man and the Tree; Waiting for Bush's Other Shoe to Drop

Poems for progressives
Empire of the Senseless; Stomach Ache

NOTABLE QUOTES
from Bill Maher, Dwight Eisenhower, etc.

TOON-O-PHOBIA
Assorted cartoons from Scott Breeze, John Jonik, George Jartos, John Ambrosavage, Andrew Wahl, and David Logan

What is the Washington Free Press?

This paper is an effort--by many individual writers, artists, and editors--to bring to you information that often goes unreported in the corporate media (to see examples, just read this issue!). In a sense, this paper is a sort of childhood dream-come-true of what journalism should be: news in the public interest and opinion from the heart. This paper is a volunteer operation in which no one is making a profit or bowing to commercial pressures. It is not distributed in newsstands, but is instead distributed by volunteers who want to get underreported news out to their neighborhoods. This paper is not aligned with any political party or other specific interest, and you'll probably find articles written by middle-of-the-road muckrakers, by Chomskyites as well as traditionalists, and by generally unclassifiable individuals, as long as they write accessibly and with a spirit of public and planetary betterment. This paper is almost entirely dependent on you--the appreciative reader--for its existence, as there are always bills to pay for printing, mailing, and supplies. We thank those who continue to help over the years, and we ask that others please also help us get the news out by subscribing and donating to the paper, in order to help spread commitment and best wishes for a better world and a better region.

Doug Collins, coordinating editor

Medical Marijuana Scores Major Win

Court upholds California measures

from the ACLU

A San Diego Superior Court today handed a critical victory to medical marijuana patients nationwide, affirming the ability of states to exempt qualified patients from criminal penalties, despite federal policy that prohibits all marijuana use. Following oral arguments by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Drug Policy Alliance and Americans for Safe Access, the court confirmed the full validity of California's medical marijuana laws, rejecting the contention of several counties - San Diego, San Bernardino and Merced - that such laws are made invalid by federal law.

"This is a vital win for patients and a resounding step forward for the medical marijuana movement," said Adam Wolf, an attorney with the ACLU who argued the case. "This case, the first and only frontal assault on medical marijuana laws in the nation, has been soundly rejected. The victory here saves state medical marijuana laws from a cruel and ill-founded suit by a handful of rogue counties."

Enacted in 1996, the Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215, allows qualified patients with a doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana. The Medical Marijuana Program Act, passed in 2003, requires counties to implement an identification card program that allows law enforcement to properly identify legitimate patients.

"For the tens of thousands of seriously ill Californians who depend on medical marijuana, this victory could not be more significant," said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA). "San Diego Supervisor Bill Horn stated he was seeking clarification from the courts. Now that the court has ruled, we really hope that San Diego and counties across California will move forward with implementing state law."

The California Attorney General's office agreed with the ACLU, the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) and ASA in arguing that state medical marijuana laws are not rendered invalid by conflicting federal statutes - consistent with the opinions of the attorneys general of several other states, including Colorado, Hawaii and Oregon, which permit medical use of marijuana.

The case originated from a lawsuit initially brought by San Diego County, and later joined by San Bernardino and Merced counties, against the state of California. The ACLU, DPA and ASA intervened in the proceedings on behalf of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers and doctors in order to assure adequate representation of those most impacted by the case.

"The ruling is a triumph for not only patients and the rule of law, but for the democratic process as well," said Tamar Todd, an attorney for DPA. "Americans need not march in lock step with the federal government's failed drug war"

The groups represented Wendy Christakes, William Britt and Yvonne Westbrook, Californians who use physician-recommended marijuana to treat medical conditions and their side-effects, including chronic pain and sciatica, multiple sclerosis, rectal cancer, epilepsy and post-polio syndrome. The groups also represented Pamela Sakuda, a patient who passed away after the lawsuit was filed, as well as Sakuda's spouse and caregiver, Norbert Litzinger and Dr. Stephen O'Brien, a physician who specializes in HIV/AIDS treatment in Oakland, California, and believes that many of his seriously ill patients benefit from the medical use of marijuana.

In addition to being co-counsel, ASA was also a party to the proceedings on behalf of its membership, which includes thousands of medical marijuana patients, caregivers and physicians residing in California. The Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) was represented by the groups as well. WAMM is a medical marijuana collective and hospice located in Santa Cruz, California, whose 250 members, the majority of whom are terminally ill, use marijuana to treat a range of conditions.

 

The court's ruling, issued by Judge William R. Nevitt, is available at www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/27628lgl20061206.html

The groups' legal papers are online at www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/27396lgl20061103.html

Additional information on the case is available at www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/26388prs20060804.html


John Jonik

The Washington Free Press
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