(no subject)
SAN FRANCISCO (June 6) - The two plaintiffs in the medical marijuana case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday say they will defy the ruling and continue to smoke pot, even at the risk of arrest by federal authorities.
''I'm going to have to be prepared to be arrested,'' said Diane Monson, who smokes marijuana several times a day to relieve back pain.
The Supreme Court ruled that federal authorities may arrest and prosecute people whose doctors recommend marijuana to ease pain, concluding that state laws do not protect users from a federal ban on the drug.
The Bush administration had argued that states, even the 10 states with medical marijuana laws, could not defy the federal Controlled Substances Act, which declares marijuana to be not only illegal, but of no medical value.
Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the 6-3 decision, said that Congress could change the law to allow medical use of marijuana.
Monson, 48, of Oroville, was prescribed marijuana by her doctor in 1997 after standard prescription drugs didn't work or made her sleepy. She is battling degenerative spine disease.
''I'm way disappointed. There are so many people that need cannabis,'' Monson said.
Fifty-six percent of California voters approved the nation's first so-called medical marijuana law in 1996, allowing patients to smoke and grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.
Even though the state law was on the books, Monson's backyard crop of six marijuana plants was seized by federal agents in 2002. She and Angel Raich, the other plaintiff, sued then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
''If I stop using cannabis, unfortunately, I would die,'' said Raich, who estimates her marijuana intake to be about nine pounds a year.
Raich, 39, suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other problems. She said she uses marijuana every few waking hours, on the advice of her doctor, who said dozens of other medications were of little help.
Many other cannabis clubs still operate openly in California and other states, but have taken measures - such as not keeping client lists - to protect their customers from arrest.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said he was disappointed with the ruling, but not surprised, and that ''people shouldn't panic ... there aren't going to be many changes.''
Local and state officers handle nearly all marijuana prosecutions and must still follow any state laws that protect patients.
''Nothing is different today than it was two days ago, in terms of real world impact,'' Lockyer said. ''There's a California law which conflicts with the federal law. Federal law treats heroin and marijuana the same, which is illogical.''
Tommy Lee Goes to College will now premiere on Tuesday, August 16 at 9PM ET/PT
with back-to-back half-hour episodes.
NBC has announced that it has tweaked its previously announced summer programming lineup, changing the premiere schedule for six of its upcoming reality series, including Tommy Lee Goes to College.
Originally scheduled to debut on Tuesday, August 9 following the special 90-minute premiere of The Biggest Loser 2, Tommy Lee Goes to College will now premiere on Tuesday, August 16 at 9PM ET/PT with back-to-back half-hour episodes. NBC has also rescheduled Loser 2's premiere, deciding instead to postpone the show's launch until Tuesday, September 13. Following its special two-episode premiere, Tommy Lee will air regularly in the Tuesday 9:00-9:30PM ET/PT time period.
Taking a page from Rodney Dangerfield's 1986 Back to School film, Tommy Lee Goes to College will follow the notorious Motley Crue rocker as he returns to school to get the college experience he never had. Despite being a 42-year-old twice divorced father of two, the fish-out-of-water Lee enrolled at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where cameras followed him as he dealt with collegiate situations like finding a roommate, trying out for the marching band, and cramming for finals with Natalie, his hot tutor.
In an October 2004 letter to the school's faculty and staff, UNL Chancellor Harvey Perlman attempted to explain why he decided to allow the show to film at his school. Stating that "we're satisfied that the show will not portray the university in a bad light," Perlman explained that "we believe the effort will be serious" and feature "a good message... with which the university can associate."
While recognizing that there were "some risks" to allowing the show to use his campus, Perlman felt that despite having previously "turned down a number of reality opportunities," "the potential for this exposure seemed worth the risk" -- although he also asked the faculty and staff to "join me in keeping your fingers crossed." In addition to stating that "the potential for our recruiting efforts was worth it," Perlman noted that the show's producers agreed to provide internship opportunities to some of the school's students and that Lee (who will be living off-campus) agreed to abide by the university's Student Code of Conduct while at UNL.
Distributed by NBC Universal Television Distribution, the six-episode Tommy Lee Goes To College is executive produced by Eddie October, BT, Richard Bishop, and Brad Wyman, co-executive-produced by Mike Nichols, and produced by Tommy Lee and Carl Stubner.