Time: Thu Nov 14 22:16:55 1996
To: cheechwz@mindspring.com (A H Clements)
From: Paul Andrew Mitchell [address in tool bar]
Subject: Compassionate Class Action for Medicalization of Marijuana
Cc: 
Bcc: 

Ashley,

Would you be so kind as to
request permission of Mr. Hirsch
for me to send him some of
the press releases I have
written for the Internet?
I would rather do it this way,
then to send him those files
without prior notice.

Thanks!

/s/ Paul Mitchell

At 11:06 PM 11/14/96 -0600, you wrote:
>  Hey hey Paul,
>
>   I have read your posts on constitutional law, though I do admit most
>goes right over my head.
>
>   There is a Compassionate Class Action for Medicalization of Marijuana,
>of which I will be a plaintiff.   I have put the initial announcement
>below.
>
>   The lead attorney is Larry Hirsch of Philadelphia.
>
>   Since this CCAMM will touch on constitutional matters, I thought you may
>be interested in sharing your experience and advice with Mr. Hirch.
>
>   take care   ---   peace   ---   ashley in atlanta
>
>************************************************
>
>        Lawrence Elliott Hirsch, Counselor at Law, 1700 Sansom Street,
>Suite 501, Philadelphia, PA 19103; telephone (215)496-9530; FAX
>(215)496-9532; E-mail LEH36@aol.com, intends to file a national class
>action lawsuit against the United States government, seeking declaratory
>judgments and injunctive relief on behalf of all medical marijuana
>candidates.  The litigation will be initiated in the United States District
>Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, on or before November 22,
>1996.
>   [[[Forwarder's note:   Filing will probably be in mid December]]]
>
>        In a national class action, one or more members of a class may sue
>as representative parties on behalf of all.  There must be issues of law or
>fact which are common to the class.  The claims of the representative
>parties must be typical of the claims of the class.  The representative
>parties are bound to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the
>class.  Class actions were created to facilitate justice when the potential
>class is so numerous that individual joinder of all members is
>impracticable.  A class action is the perfect vehicle for raising the
>Federal, Constitutional issues surrounding the "medicalization of
>marijuana".
>
>        In our case, the class action will be brought on behalf of all sick
>and disenfranchised citizens to enforce their constitutional rights to use
>cannabis to heal themselves without arbitrary government interference and
>criminalization.
>
>        "Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances
>known.  No one has ever died from an overdose, and it has a wide variety of
>therapeutic applications, including:
>        • relieving nausea and increasing appetite;
>        • reducing intraocular ("within the eye") pressure:
>        • reducing muscle spasms and spasticity; and
>        • relieving mild to moderate chronic pain.
>
>        Thousands of patients and their doctors have found marijuana to be
>beneficial in treating AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis,
>epilepsy, chronic pain, and other serious conditions.  For many people,
>marijuana is the only medicine with a suitable degree of safety and
>efficacy.
>
>        However, only eight people in the United States are presently
>allowed to use marijuana as a medicine, through a federal program closed to
>all new applicants since 1991.  People who need medicinal marijuana are
>left with two terrible choices: (1) continue to suffer, or (2) obtain
>marijuana illegally and risk the following consequences:
>        • insufficient supplies due to prohibition-inflated prices
>        or scarcity;
>        • impure, contaminated, or chemically adulterated
>        marijuana; and
>        • arrests, fines, court costs, property forfeiture, incarceration,
>probation, and criminal records."
>
>        Although cannabis has been demonized and used as a tool of
>political oppression, its known benefits have deep historical roots and
>almost universal acceptance.
>
>        The class action is blessed to have Joan Bello as its National
>Director of Communications and Networking for the "Compassionate Class
>Action for Medicalization of Marijuana".  Joan has recently published a
>book entitled "The Benefits of Marijuana", a phenomenal work based on years
>of extensive and thorough research.  Any person interested in learning
>about the benefits of marijuana should read this book.  Although we expect
>"The Benefits of Marijuana" to be a huge best seller and become a classic
>in its field, it is now available only by mail order.  Each copy ordered
>directly from Joan will be personalized and autographed at a price of $18
>per copy plus $3.60 (total) for shipping and handling on all orders.
>Checks or money orders should be made payable to:
>LIFESERVICES and addressed to Joan Bello at P.O. Box 4314, Boca Raton,
>Florida 33429.
>
>        It is estimated that more than 30 million people are directly
>impacted by the marijuana medicalization issues.  The initial named
>plaintiffs/representatives will be people from all over the country who
>suffer from a variety of sicknesses and disorders which make them
>candidates to receive marijuana as medicine.
>
>        The "Compassionate Class Action for Medicalization of Marijuana"
>will be asking our federal judicial system for a declaration that the
>governments prohibition of medical marijuana is unconstitutional, and for a
>judicial decree, ordering among other things, that the government make
>marijuana available to those with a medical need, and to enable medical
>candidates to cultivate cannabis for their consumption and healing.
>
>        The legal foundation for the suit will be predicated primarily on
>the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution which
>guarantees all citizens equal protection of the laws, and due process of
>law.  Only eight people in the United States of America have the legal
>right to receive marijuana from the federal government.  Arbitrary
>restriction of this right, when there are millions of candidates who need
>cannabis for their healing is unconstitutional.  The Federal prohibition
>effectively nullifies the power of each state to fashion their own
>regulatory structure.
>
>         Marijuana has been unjustly demonized by the government in concert
>with certain corporate interests with hidden and political agendas.
>
>        With respect to the medical marijuana "body count", the government
>can score its "victims" in its war on drugs in the tens of millions.
>
>        We are confident that after a full presentation of the evidence,
>the data and the literature in the "Compassionate Class Action for
>Medicalization of Marijuana", that the big lies of the government/big
>business conspiracy that has led to the deprivation of constitutional
>rights of all of the people affected by the class action will be exposed,
>and that justice will prevail.
>
>        Planning of support infrastructure for the "Compassionate Class
>Action for Medicalization of Marijuana" is being finalized.  Many
>attorneys, sufferers, activists and organizations throughout the country
>have already lent their support to the implementation to the class action.
>It is anticipated that the class action will attract all of the vast
>support that it needs because of its inherent righteousness, and its legal,
>equitable and constitutional soundness.
>
>        Further information may be obtained by contacting Lawrence Elliott
>Hirsch or Joel Ian Herzfeld or Ryan Perlman, assistants to Mr. Hirsch.
>
>
>
>
>                            Ashley H. Clements
>                         1416 Brookvalley lane
>                            Atlanta, Ga.  30324
>                               (404) 636-6426
>
>                    A.H.Clements@mindspring.com
>             
>
>
>
      


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