Stupid Federal Marijuana Law Challenged

Over in the Saporta Report, the great Maggie Lee describes a lawsuit filed by a DeKalb County family to change the federal classification of marijuana.

“We have proof after proof that it shouldn’t be a Schedule I substance,” said Sebastien Cotte, a Stone Mountain dad who gives his son Jagger, 6, a liquid made from cannabis to alleviate the pain of Leigh’s disease. That’s a rare neurological disorder that generally causes death in two to three years.

Cotte is among the medical marijuana activists who say the drug is therapeutic. But the federal government bans it as a “Schedule I” drug: those with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The list also includes heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

The lawsuit argues that the cannabis classification is wrong on several grounds and is “so irrational as a matter of law that it cannot be said to be rationally related to any legitimate government purpose.”

This doesn’t look like “legalization” but more like “decriminalization” -an attempt to bring a little common sense to the country’s attitude towards the wacky weed, and frankly, it’s long overdue. While there are genuine issues with full legalization of marijuana, (such as testing for marijuana-impaired drivers) locking people up for possessing or using marijuana is an utter waste of tax dollars and police resources.

Read the whole thing.