This is known most commonly as the Alexis Bortell case for the articulate young girl who is one of five plaintiffs suing to have cannabis removed from Federal Schedule 1 status.
….the government is attempting to have the suit dismissed. The court held its decision on the motion in abeyance after the hearing, but something possibly very significant did happen…
…Here’s a first hand video report about the session by national cannabis advocate Sebastien Cotte who attended the day’s events:
http://ift.tt/2BwpCiv
“Lauren Rudick is a partner in the legal team and said, ‘One of the most important takeaways from the Judge is that he recognized that medical cannabis is in fact working for the plaintiffs in our case. This correlates directly with our complaint in the lawsuit.”
Cannabis’ efficacy in treating the problems of the plaintiffs is at the heart of the matter due to the definition of Schedule 1 drugs: drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
The first criteria is obviously belied by tens of thousands of research studies. As for the second, cannabis has a demonstrably lower potential potential for abuse than alcohol – considerably less in our opinion – especially when used in a medical context (and its abuse is less addicting, toxic and associated with fewer dangerous behavioral side effects).
And then there’s legal tobacco which (as used) has less than zero medical use and a sky high-potential for dependency.
From another article:
“The suit has made another claim based on what amounts to government hypocrisy: It asks why the government has classified pot as a pernicious substance, when in 2003 the Department of Health and Human Services obtained a patent on compounds in the drug to protect against brain damage and then in 2015 the surgeon general under President Obama declared in public that pot has medical benefits.”
http://ift.tt/2snQ9LQ.
Cannabis’ Schedule 1 classification has always been ridiculous. Even in the government’s own words and deeds.
The plaintiff’s attorney also noted, ” ‘We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support at the courthouse today, and were truly feeling the love on Valentine’s Day! There were so many advocates here and it means so much to us and this case. To us, this is a human rights issue with deep roots in social justice, and an issue we won’t stop at.”
No further rulings may come down for several days, but whenever there are further developments we’ll share them, as a positive finding could further cut off the legs of arguments still being made by opponents in the Utah debate.
#MMJ #USpol #AlexisBortell #UTpol #Schedule1 #DEA #TRUCE
See full article – Judge Recognizes Medical Cannabis Works, Delays Decision in Lawsuit – The Weed Blog
