IMMLY PRESS RELEASE:
Wisconsin Medical Marijuana Patients Watching Closely As U.S. Supreme Court Hears Historic Medical Cannabis Case
For immediate release November 29, 2004
WISCONSIN MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS WATCHING CLOSELY AS U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS HISTORIC MEDICAL CANNABIS CASE
Madison - When the U.S. Supreme Court convenes at 10 a.m. this Monday, November 29, to hear the historic medical cannabis case, Raich v. Ashcroft, Wisconsin residents Jacki Rickert and Gary Storck will be watching closely.
Rickert and Storck, who themselves were among 165 plaintiffs in an unsuccessful 1998 suit challenging federal medical marijuana policies, are hoping the Supreme Court will agree with the much broader constitutional issues raised in Raich v. Ashcroft.
Jacki Rickert's medical necessity was recognized by the federal government in 1991 when her late physician gained approval for her participation in a federal program that still supplies seven living Americans with over 7 1/2 pounds of federal medical marijuana per year. Rickert, who never received the marijuana federal authorities were under contract to deliver, had this to say, "It's about time this comes to the forefront. We've been lied to for so long. Do they really think patients would put everything on the line if it didn't work?" Rickert continued, "I've said from day one when I went public in 1992 I thought this issue should go all the way to the Supreme Court and I'm glad it is finally there. Maybe once and for all we'll find out Is My Medicine Legal YET?"
Gary Storck, who has endured a lifetime of chronic health problems said, "I've been asking for legal access to my medicine for over three decades. We hope the court will agree this is a states' rights issue and let patients and doctors make health care decisions instead of federal bureaucrats. Isn't it time that Americans struggling with illness who have found conventional treatments ineffective or the side effects intolerable regain the freedom to legally access medical cannabis?"
Is My Medicine Legal YET? is a Madison based grass roots patient and caregiver organization dedicated to advancing public education about the medicinal benefits of marijuana. For further information or to arrange an interview with Jacki Rickert contact Gary Storck at 608.241.8922 or visit the IMMLY website at www.immly.org.
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