ADA rights trump federal law making cannabis illegal?

Class-action status sought for medical-pot lawsuit
Fire victim alleges ADA-rights violations
Friday, March 16, 2007

SAN DIEGO - A Cedar fire burn victim is seeking class-action status
for a lawsuit he filed against county officials, alleging violations
of patients' rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act by their
refusal to regulate the use of medical marijuana.

Rudy Reyes, who suffered severe burns across his face and body in the
2003 fire, argues that the county has "unconstitutionally denied" the
right to improve the quality of life for people who have severe
injuries.

Reyes filed suit in September but amended his complaint March 1 to
include the constitutional issues and seek class-action status.

Reyes' lawsuit seeks to include as plaintiffs anyone who has a state-
issued ID card for medical marijuana and those who have applied for
the permit. If he succeeds, the number of plaintiffs likely will be in
the thousands, and the lawsuit would pose a much greater financial
risk to the county.

The county sued the state last year rather than implement medical-
marijuana laws that permit qualified patients to smoke and grow pot.
The laws require the county to issue identification cards that would
protect patients from prosecution.

San Bernardino and Merced counties joined San Diego in trying to
overturn Proposition 215, the 1996 initiative approved by 56 percent
of voters that permitted the medical use of marijuana. The county
argues that federal law banning marijuana supersedes state law.

A Superior Court judge threw out that case in December. The county has
appealed.

County Counsel John Sansone said Reyes' suit is off-base in using the
disabilities act, because no one's rights are being violated. Patients
with a doctor's permit still can obtain pot without an ID card,
Sansone said.

"I don't see that there's any legal basis to their arguments or their
allegations at all," Sansone said.

Reyes said he sued the county because officials continue to disobey
the state law despite losing in court.

"It's going to cost the county more and more money because they're
really not doing their jobs in a time when law enforcement is having
cutbacks and a time where there's not enough money for schools," he
said. "They filed this lawsuit, basically spending more money to
violate and go against California voters."

The lawsuit argues that rights provided by the Americans with
Disabilities Act trump federal law making cannabis illegal.

"Therefore, the rights of cannabis patients in San Diego County to use
cannabis to alleviate the symptoms of their disabilities and aid their
quality of life has been unconstitutionally denied by the county Board
of Supervisors and its refusal to provide for cannabis patients," the
lawsuit said.

Reyes also accuses the county of harassment and arresting him
unlawfully for possession of medical marijuana. The lawsuit cites a
December 6, 2005, incident in which the Sheriff's Department aided
federal agents in confiscating marijuana plants and growing equipment
from his La Mesa home.