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Cancer-ridden New York Judge Supports Medical Marijuana On Thursday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach wrote in a New York Times article that he had been using marijuana at “great personal risk” to fight the nausea, and other ill effects of his chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer. The judge, raising his voice in favor of using medical marijuana wrote, “This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and a human rights issue.” Reichbach, who has been 21 years on the bench, continues to preside over cases at the Kings County Supreme Court.
05/18/12
Ellen Yoroshefsky, a law professor at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law told Reuters, “It’s brave and
Previously, appeals court Judge Douglas Ginsburg, in
wonderful, but it’s heart-wrenching … There are key
1987, lost his nomination to the Supreme Court after
moments in history where a judge makes a bold stand.
admitting to have puffed marijuana in the 60s and 70s.
This is one of the moments, and we should be proud of
Another Georgia judge was removed from the bench in
it.”
2011 for admitting to smoking marijuana. A spokesman for the state court system, David While cannabis remains an illegal narcotic under federal
Bookstaver, refused to comment on whether the
law, 16 states and the District of Columbia allow the
judge would be facing any disciplinary action but said,
use of medical marijuana. However New York does not
“Everyone’s thoughts in the court system are with
belong to those states that allow it.
Justice Reichbach as he battles a very serious disease.”
Under the law of New York, first time possession of
Monroe Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University
less than 25 grams of marijuana is punishable with
told the media, “He has admitted to unlawful conduct
a fine of up to $100. And under the Code for Judicial
… ordinarily, that could be a problem, but it’s a very
Conduct in New York, judges must respect and comply
narrow, specific situation and I would hope nothing
with the law. So the editorial comments of the judge
would come of it that would be adverse to the judge.”
suffering from cancer and taking medical marijuana to alleviate pain can cost him his reputation, credibility, and all contributions made to the society of this nation. If marijuana is sold through licensed channels then pockets around the country would run dry for the flow of bribes from the black market would stop. So, even though in many other developed nations, the use of medical marijuana is entirely legal, it would continue to be illegal in this country.
A poll released on Wednesday by the Siena Research Institute shows that 57 percent of New Yorkers support establishing a legal framework for allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for cancer, chronic pain and other illnesses. A New York Assembly committee, on Tuesday, approved medical-marijuana legislation, but a spokesman for the state Senate Republican majority told the media that the chamber was unlikely to act on the measure.
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