Major Court Cases (and Related Docs)

A. Case Summary: Two medical marijuana patients, Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson, and two caregivers, John Doe Number One and John Doe Number Two, filed a complaint and motion for preliminary injunction against US Attorney General John Ashcroft and former DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson.   The plaintiffs asked Judge Martin J. Jenkins to issue a Preliminary Injunction during the pendency of the action, and a Declaratory Relief and a Permanent Injunction enjoining the defendants from arresting or prosecuting the plaintiffs, seizing their medical cannabis, forfeiting their property, or seeking civil or administrative sanctions against them for their activities The complaint stated that John Ashcroft and Asa Hutchinson are “unconstitutionally exceeding their authority by embarking on a campaign of seizing or forfeiting privately-grown intrastate medical cannabis from California patients and caregivers, arresting or prosecuting such patients, mounting paramilitary raids against patients and caregivers, harassing patients and caregivers, and taking other civil or administrative actions against them.” clinics or clubs that “sell” medical marijuana (and are not patient co-ops), will be more vulnerable to federal arrest and seizure. The US Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies may feel bolstered by the decision, and use it to “crack down” on medical marijuana centers, cultivations, patients, and their caregivers. Question Presented to the Court: “Whether the [US] Controlled Substances Act, 21 USC. 801 et seq., exceeds Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause as applied to the intrastate cultivation and possession of marijuana for purported personal ‘medicinal’ use or to the distribution of marijuana without charge for such use.”

 

B. Main Case Documents

 

Document		Date	Link to Source Document
1.	Complaint for Declaratory Relief and for Prelimninary and Permanent Injunctive Relief US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Oct. 9	Full Text (PDF)
2.	Declaration of Angel McClary Raich US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Oct. 25	Full Text (PDF)
3.	Plaintiff’s Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Oct. 29	Full Text (PDF)
4.	Defendants’ Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Dec. 10	Full Text (PDF)
5.	Plaintiffs’ Reply Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Nov. 26	Full Text (PDF)
6.	Transcript of Proceedings US District Court for the District of Northern California	2002 Dec. 17	Full Text (PDF)
7.	Order from District Court Judge Martin J. Jenkins US District Court for the District of Northern California	2003 Mar. 5	Full Text (PDF)
8.	Brief for Appellees US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit	2003 May 28	Full Text (PDF)
9.	Appellants’ Reply Brief US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit	2003 June 11	Full Text (PDF)
10.	Opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals	2003 Dec. 16	Full Text (PDF)
11.	Petition by US government for a Writ of Certiorari US Supreme Court	2004 Apr. 20	Full Text (PDF)
12.	Respondents’ Brief in Opposition US Supreme Court	2004 June 7	Full Text (PDF)
13.	Reply Brief for the Petitioners US Supreme Court	2004 June 10	Full Text (PDF)
14.	Merits Brief for the Petitioners US Supreme Court	2003 Aug. 11	Full Text (PDF)
15.	Merits Brief for the Respondents US Supreme Court	2004 Oct. 13	Full Text (PDF)
16.	Petitioners Reply brief on the Merits US Supreme Court	2004 Nov. 17	Full Text (PDF)
17.	Supreme Court Transcript US Supreme Court	2004 Nov. 29	Full Text (PDF)
18.	US Supreme Court Decision – 6-3 for US government	2005 June 6	Full Text (PDF)

Pro medical marijuana		Con medical marijuana
Filing Party	Document	Filing Party	Document
1. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer with the State of California’s, County of Alameda’s, and City of Oakland’s brief	Full Text (PDF)	1. Robert L. Dupont, M.D.; Peter B. Bensinger and Herbert Kleber, M.D.	Full Text (PDF)
2. California Medical Association and the California Nurses Association	Full Text (PDF)	2. Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.; the Drug Free Schools Coalition; Save Our Society From Drugs; the International Scientific and Medical Forum on Drug Abuse; the Institute on Global Drug Policy; and Students Taking Action Not Drugs, et al.	Full Text (PDF)
2. Constitutional Law Scholars	Full Text (PDF)	3. Mark E. Souder; US Representative, Cass Ballenger; US Representative, Dan Burton; US Representative, Katherine Harris; US Representative, Ernest J. Istook, Jr.; US Representative, Jack Kingston; US Representative, and US Representative, Doug Ose	Full Text (PDF)
4. State of California; Washington; and State of Maryland	Full Text (PDF)
5. State of Alabama; State of Louisiana; and State of Mississippi	Full Text (PDF)
6. Lymphoma Foundation of America; HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America; American Medical Students Association; Dr. Barbara Roberts; and Irvin Rosenfeld	Full Text (PDF)
7. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; Pain Relief Network; California Medical Association; AIDS Action Council; Compassion in Dying Federation; End-of-Life Choices; National Women’s Health Network; Global Lawyers and Physicians; and AUTONOMY, Inc.	Full Text (PDF)
8. California Nurses Association and DKT Liberty Project	Full Text (PDF)
9. Marijuana Policy Project and Rick Doblin, PhD	Full Text (PDF)
10. Cato Institute	Full Text (PDF)
11. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML); The NORML Foundation; the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; and Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association	Full Text (PDF)
12. Reason Foundation	Full Text (PDF)
13. Institute for Justice	Full Text (PDF)