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Advocacy
| No. 03-40 |
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| Title: |
| John P. Walters, Director, White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, et al., Petitioners |
| v. |
| Marcus Conant, et al. |
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| Docketed: |
July 7, 2003 |
| Lower Ct: |
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |
| Case Nos.: |
(00-17222) |
| Decision Date: |
October 29, 2002 |
| Rehearing Denied: |
February 6, 2003 |
FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
MARCUS CONANT, Dr.; DONALD NORTHFELT,
Dr.; DEBU TRIPATHY, Dr.; NEIL FLYNN, Dr.; STEPHEN POLLANSBEE, Dr.;
STEPHEN O’BRIEN, Dr.; MILTON ESTES, Dr.; JO DALY; KEITH VINES;
JUDITH CUSHNER; VALERIE CORRAL; BAY AREA PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS; BEING ALIVE: PEOPLE WITH AIDS/ HIV ACTION COALITION, INC.;
HOWARD MCCABEE; DANIEL KANE;
| ALLAN FLACH, Dr., |
| |
Plaintiffs-Appellees, |
|
v.
|
|
JOHN P. WALTERS,*, Director of the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy; ASA HUTCHINSON,** Administrator, US DEA; JOHN
ASHCROFT,*** Attorney General of the United States;
|
No. 00-17222
D.C. No.
CV-97-00139-WHA
OPINION
|
What does Conant mean for doctors and health
care professionals?
Doctors CAN:
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Discuss, fully and candidly, the risks and benefits of medical
marijuana with patients.
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Recommend (or Approve, Endorse, Suggest, or Advise, etc.), in
accordance with their medical judgment, marijuana for patient use.
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Record in their patients’ charts discussions about and
recommendations of medical marijuana.
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Sign a government form or otherwise inform state or local officials
that they have recommended medical marijuana for particular
patients.
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Testify in court or through written declaration about recommending
medical marijuana for a certain patient.
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Educate themselves about the medical benefits of marijuana, its
various clinical applications, and different routes of ingestion.
Doctors CANNOT:
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Prescribe medical marijuana. This includes writing a recommendation
on an Rx form.
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Assist patients in obtaining marijuana.
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Cultivate or possess marijuana for patient use.
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Physically assist patients in using marijuana.
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Recommend marijuana without a justifiable medical cause.
Walters v. Conant: Marcus Conant, M.D. - Lead Plaintiff
Dr. Conant currently treats at least 100 patients for whom he believes
marijuana is a medically appropriate form of treatment for nausea and loss
of appetite in AIDS patients. -
ACLU Drug Law Reform Project
Marijuana Law Reform
Conant v. McCaffrey is, at its core, a case about doctors’ ability to
give advice and recommendations to patients suffering from serious and
debilitating illnesses.
Order Granting Plaintiffs Motions for Preliminary Injunction Class
Certification; Denying Defendants' Motion to Dismiss
This information provided by the
Office of the State
Public Health Officer. Dr. Marcus Conant, et. al., v. John P. Walters,
et. al.
This October 29, 2002, decision by the United States Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit upheld an earlier decision that the US Government could
not punish physicians for voicing their professional opinions based on their
best medical judgment (Conant v. McCaffrey, September 7, 2000). The Court of
Appeals decision upholds the First Amendments rights of physicians who
recommend the use of medical marijuana for their patients.
US Supreme Court
Allows MDs to Recommend Marijuana
Washington DC, Oct.
15th 2003. In a major victory for Prop. 215, the Supreme Court let stand
a Ninth Circuit ruling protecting doctors from punishment for recommending
marijuana as medicine. The court turned down the administration’s request
for a hearing to appeal an injunction by the U.S. District Court in San
Francisco barring the government from punishing doctors who recommend
marijuana by revoking their licenses to prescribe controlled substances or
by other sanctions.
The case, Conant v.
Walters (previously McCaffrey), was decided on freedom of speech
grounds. The Ninth Circuit ruled that physicians have a "core First
Amendment" right "to speak frankly and openly with their patients." However,
the court’s decision does not allow doctors to aid and abet patients in
procuring marijuana, for example, by referring them to a cannabis
dispensary.
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