IMMLY reacts to Supreme Court
decision
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Jacki & Gary at the
Supreme Court in October 1999 (L.), and again in April 2001 (R.)
(Click for larger view.) |
Posted by Gary Storck on May 17,
2001
Source: IMMLY
On Monday May 14, 2001,
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on the U.S. vs. Oakland
Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative. The Court's 8-0 decision that there is no "medical necessity" exception to the nation's drug laws that allows the distribution of
medicinal cannabis marked a perfect trifecta for Jacki. She has now been
screwed over by all three branches of government: executive, legislative
and judicial.
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"I'm just so angry, I'm almost shaking. I feel I've had my wheelchair kicked out from under me," said Rickert, executive director of the group, "Is My Medicine Legal Yet?" |
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-- IMMLY
Founder Jacki Rickert,
Wisconsin State Journal 15 May 2001. |
It was the executive
branch through the Dept. of Health & Human services that agreed to
supply Jacki with supplies of federal pot through both its Compassionate
and Research
Investigative New Drug
programs in 1990, and then reneged in 1992. Again, the executive branch,
in the form of then-candidate Bill Clinton who made a campaign trail promise to
Jacki in 1992 to reopen the closed IND program, if elected, And it was
the Clinton Administration that launched a vicious war on medicinal
cannabis patients and the state initiatives that legalized medical use
in 8 states. Once again, it
was the Clinton Administration that requested the Supreme Court issue an emergency stay of the
lower court order allowing the distribution of cannabis to seriously ill
patients in California which set the stage for the Court's ruling issued
on May 14. The legislative branch got their punches in at both the state
and federal levels, by not passing laws making a compassionate exception
to patients who can benefit from therapeutic cannabis, along with
Congress' passing of the horrendous "Sense of
Congress" H.
Res. 117 on September 15, 1998 at 7:29 PM, on a 310-93
vote, which stated that cannabis
"is a dangerous and addictive drug and should not be legalized for medicinal use." H. Res. 117 was cited by federal attorneys in their
arguments to the Supreme Court.
Jacki did an interview
with the Wisconsin State Journal that became part of
a front page article that was picked up by the Associated Press and
appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and other publications. The
article was also used in radio reports about the Court's action in the Eau
Claire/Mondovi area. Gary, IMMLY's Director of Communications, read a statement penned by
Jacki on Kathleen Dunn's show on Wisconsin Public Radio Tuesday May 15,
2001, which appears below. Portions of the article also were used in an
editorial in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram on May 17. Links to the
articles can be found below.
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Jacki’s
reaction to the Supreme Court Decision:
"Anyone
who would kick and/or pull a wheelchair out from under a
person reminds me of someone who would pull the wings
off a butterfly just to see how it feels.
It
makes one wonder what went through Hitler’s mind as
millions died, simply because of his haunting decisions
to detach himself from reality and humanity as he was
considered the supreme law not so long ago.
I
would rather crawl with humanity and truth than run with
lies and blood on my conscience."
Jacki Rickert
15
May 2001
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More reaction to the decision:
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"I'm not willing to die; I'm not going to stand for it," said an emotional McClary, adding that the Supreme Court had "American human blood on their hands." |
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-- Angel McClary,
OCBC medical necessity patient who suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, anorexia and a seizure
disorder, as quoted in news articles, 14 May 2001. |
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"There
are enormously effective tools available today. Smoking a joint
is no more effective than downing two glasses of vodka on
dealing with pain. You're drunk and you're still in pain." |
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ex-drug czar Barry McCaffrey, speaking on NBC Nightly News
14 May 2001. |
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"There's one tiny bit of good news in this week's unanimous Supreme Court decision against medical marijuana. You can't blame it on George W. Bush. You have to lay blame for this one squarely where it belongs: on Bill Clinton and Barry McCaffrey, his heartless, overzealous drug czar.
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| -- Bill Press, Source: CNN,
Supreme Court Tramples on Grass,
May 17, 2001. |
Background on the case:
Opinions for the Oakland Cannabis
Ruling
Syllabus:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-151.ZS.html
Majority Opinion (Thomas):
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-151.ZO.html
Concurring Opinion (Stevens):
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-151.ZC.html
Dr. Russo's Explanation of the Supreme Court Ruling
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread9705.shtml#13
Search
the Media Awareness Project (MAP) for news articles about the OCBC and
the case.
Legal Documents from United States of America V. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Jeffrey
Jones.
Mirror
site for US v. OCBC documents.
Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative
website
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