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The Des Moines Register
Wednesday, February 19, 1997, page 2M.
letters@news.dmreg.com

Class-Action Lawsuit Next for D.M. Man's Lawyer

Medicinal-marijuana case rejected

By Jim Pollok
Register Staff Writer

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a Des Moines man's
effort to get the federal government to recognize what he says are marijuana's medicinal uses.
It wasn't good news for Carl Olsen, but it wasn't surprising.  "I'm not real disappointed -- not any more than when I filed the lawsuit to begin with," he said.  "I'm disappointed with the whole government and the way they're treating this thing."
The court, without comment, turned away arguments that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration improperly has refused to remove some of the severe restrictions against the illegal drug.
That's the end of this case, but not the end of the argument, said Olsen, 45.  "I've had something pending in court for the last 15 years, so I may look around for something," he said.
His lawyer plans to file a class-action lawsuit later this month.
"It will be filed on behalf of approximately 100 plaintiffs from all over the United States who share the common issue of a need for therapeutic cannabis," said Philadelphia attorney Lawrence Elliott Hirsch.

For Eight Users Only
"It's based on the principle that eight people receive therapeutic cannabis but all other candidates no longer can obtain it from the government because of arbitrary policies."
Two of the eight legal users live in Iowa.
Several experts have said there is no proven medical use for smoked marijuana.  However, some research has suggested that the drug is useful in relieving internal eye pressure in glaucoma; for controlling nausea in cancer patients on chemotherapy; and for combating wasting, a severe weight loss associated with AIDS and the HIV virus.
Doctors who treat AIDS and cancer sued the Clinton administration last month for threatening to punish doctors who recommend marijuana for their patients.
New laws in California and Arizona allowing medical uses of the drug sparked a harsh response from the federal government.
"I thought the case had a better chance to be heard because of the controversy, " Hirsch said.  "I thought the issues were appropriately raised and it would have been helpful for the court to decide.  I was disappointed they didn't hear the case."
Olsen petitioned the Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed his case without issuing a written opinion.
His petition to the Supreme Court questioned whether the Drug Enforcement Agency rejected his petition arbitrarily; violated his First Amendment rights; violated his Fifth Amendment rights; violated his right to privacy; and violated his right to equal protection of the laws.

Effort Revived
Olsen did not plan to carry his battle to the nation's highest court, but then Hirsch entered the picture.
Hirsch, 58, has practiced law for 33 years.  On Feb. 26, he launches a new law firm, Hirsch & Caplan, dedicated to the issue of medical marijuana and other public interest issues.
He explained the turn in his career by saying: "That's the way God planned it."
Olsen, who works for the Iowa Department of Transportation in Des Moines, was arrested for possession of marijuana several times in the 1980s and spent two years in prison on drug charges in the mid-1980s.

THIS STORY includes information from The Associated Press.

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