Letter: President, Vice President, Senators Warner and Allen & Rep. Moran on H.R. 1717

May 14, 2003

Letter to The President, Vice President, Senators Warner and Allen and Representative Moran

May 14, 2003

President Bush
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Please sponsor and support H.R. 1717, the “Truth in Trials” Act, to allow defendants to tell juries the whole truth.

Medical marijuana patients and their providers shouldn’t be subjected to criminal penalties, and certainly jurors have the right to know the true situation when they are asked to pass judgment

Sincerely,

James Landrith

June 2, 2003

Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208

Dear Mr. Landrith:

Thank you for contacting my office to express your views about using marijuana for medical purposes.

As you know, nine states have approved measures to allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes. These state laws are in direct conflict with federal laws that prohibit the possession and use of these drugs for any reason. Former Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey announced that the federal government will not tolerate the prescription of marijuana and other Schedule I drugs and that any doctor who does so would be subject to a loss of Medicare and Medicaid funds and revocation of his or her license to prescribe drugs.

I consider medical marijuana laws such as those in Arizona and California to be too broadly written, and I therefore supported General McCaffrey’s announced policy. However, I am certainly sympathetic to concerns about the pain of terminally ill patients. In my view, any proposal to allow the medicinal use of drugs such as marijuana and heroin should be narrowly drawn to require that such drugs be prescribed in writing by a doctor, distributed through a licensed pharmacy, and used only by patients with specific illnesses, such as cancer and glaucoma. In the past, for example, I supported the Compassionate Pain Relief Act, which would allow doctors to prescribe certain Schedule I drugs to terminally-ill patients.

On March 29, 2001, the Supreme Court heard arguments with respect to legality of California’s proposition 215. At issue was whether or not the government can issue an injunction to stop the operations of cannabis clubs.” Attorneys representing the marijuana clubs previously argued that marijuana use is legal because of ‘medical necessity.”

On May 14, 2001, the Supreme Court ruled against the distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Supreme Court stated that there is no medical necessity exception to the Controlled Substances Act’s prohibitions on manufacturing and distributing marijuana.

In response to this ruling, on April 10, 2003, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) introduced H.R.1717, the Truth in Trials Act. If passed, this legislation would provide an affirmative defense for the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various States. More specifically, any person facing prosecution for any marijuana-related offense could demonstrate as evidence that his or her activities were in compliance with state law regarding the medical use of marijuana.

While I would be willing to support carefully-worded legislation to allow the use of Schedule I drugs in a controlled environment for specific treatments, I remain firmly dedicated to the total eradication of illegal drugs for recreational use. As a former federal prosecutor, I have consistently supported initiatives to reduce both the supply, through law enforcement and interdiction, and the demand, through treatment, prevention, and user accountability, of illegal drugs.

Again, thank you for giving me the benefit of your views on this issue.
With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,

John Warner

JW/jsf

2 comments

Representative James P. Moran says:

May 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm

May 27, 2003

Mr. James Landrith
PO Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306

Dear Mr. Landrith:

Thank you for contacting my office and sharing your thoughts regarding the medicinal use of marijuana. I certainly understand your concerns regarding the need for individuals diagnosed with serious life-threatening illnesses to have access to marijuana.

Congressman Sam Farr, Lynn Woolsey and Dana Rohrabacher recently introduced the Truth in Trials Act (H.R. 1717), which would recognize state laws that allow marijuana’s medical uses and provide an affirmative defense to federal charges if a defendant was acting in compliance with state law. I agree that H.R. 1717 provides a common sense approach to the issue of medicinal use of marijuana and plan to support H.R. 1717 if it is considered by the House of Representatives.

Please feel free to visit my website at http://www.house.gov/moran which contains information on topics that may be of interest to you. Thank you again for contacting me on this important issue.

Yours truly,

James P. Moran

JPM/int1

Senator John Warner says:

June 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm

June 2, 2003

Mr. James Landrith
P.O. Box 8208
Alexandria, Virginia 22306-8208

Dear Mr. Landrith:

Thank you for contacting my office to express your views about using marijuana for medical purposes.

As you know, nine states have approved measures to allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes. These state laws are in direct conflict with federal laws that prohibit the possession and use of these drugs for any reason. Former Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey announced that the federal government will not tolerate the prescription of marijuana and other Schedule I drugs and that any doctor who does so would be subject to a loss of Medicare and Medicaid funds and revocation of his or her license to prescribe drugs.

I consider medical marijuana laws such as those in Arizona and California to be too broadly written, and I therefore supported General McCaffrey’s announced policy. However, I am certainly sympathetic to concerns about the pain of terminally ill patients. In my view, any proposal to allow the medicinal use of drugs such as marijuana and heroin should be narrowly drawn to require that such drugs be prescribed in writing by a doctor, distributed through a licensed pharmacy, and used only by patients with specific illnesses, such as cancer and glaucoma. In the past, for example, I supported the Compassionate Pain Relief Act, which would allow doctors to prescribe certain Schedule I drugs to terminally-ill patients.

On March 29, 2001, the Supreme Court heard arguments with respect to legality of California’s proposition 215. At issue was whether or not the government can issue an injunction to stop the operations of cannabis clubs.” Attorneys representing the marijuana clubs previously argued that marijuana use is legal because of ‘medical necessity.”

On May 14, 2001, the Supreme Court ruled against the distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Supreme Court stated that there is no medical necessity exception to the Controlled Substances Act’s prohibitions on manufacturing and distributing marijuana.

In response to this ruling, on April 10, 2003, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) introduced H.R.1717, the Truth in Trials Act. If passed, this legislation would provide an affirmative defense for the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various States. More specifically, any person facing prosecution for any marijuana-related offense could demonstrate as evidence that his or her activities were in compliance with state law regarding the medical use of marijuana.

While I would be willing to support carefully-worded legislation to allow the use of Schedule I drugs in a controlled environment for specific treatments, I remain firmly dedicated to the total eradication of illegal drugs for recreational use. As a former federal prosecutor, I have consistently supported initiatives to reduce both the supply, through law enforcement and interdiction, and the demand, through treatment, prevention, and user accountability, of illegal drugs.

Again, thank you for giving me the benefit of your views on this issue.
With kind regards, I am

Sincerely,

John Warner

JW/jsf