A disabled veteran has told an appeals court that the department
of veteran affairs policy on medical marijuana has caused him pain and
significant economic harm, in a development campaigners say is a
positive step in the battle to push for the drug’s reclassification.
Michael
Krawitz, one of five plaintiffs involved in a legal case before the
court of appeal for the District of Columbia Circuit, told the Guardian that the VA denied him pain treatment after they discovered he had been prescribed medical marijuana while abroad.
He
told the court in an affidavit that the withdrawal of care by the
department, which has rated him 100% permanently disabled and thus
eligible for all medical treatment under its auspices, has meant he now
has to travel 130 miles from his home to see a doctor for pain relief.
Krawitz,
49, who is the executive director of Veterans for Medical Marijuana
Access, said: "The bottom line is its unethical to take away someone’s
pain treatment. This conflicts with standards of medical care."
Krawitz
sustained his injuries in a car accident while serving in the US air
force, which has left him suffering debilitating pain.
The case,
the result of a long-standing battle by medical marijuana advocates to
reclassify the drug, is the first time in 20 years that scientific
evidence regarding the therapeutic benefits of cannabis will be heard by a federal court.
This
current case "looks more promising" than previous efforts, because of
the court’s focus on Krawitz and the request for more details, according
to the ASA.
Joe Elford, the chief counsel with ASA, said: "It clearly demonstrated that the court is taking this case very seriously."
"This is something that demonstrates real harm to a real individual and that individual is Michael Krawitz.
"He
is 100% disabled and supposed to get all his medical treatment from the
VA. But because of the VA’s policy on medical marijuana, which is
clearly motivated by the schedule 1 status, that cannot happen."
After
an initial oral hearing last week, the court ordered Americans for Safe
Access, a advocacy group for medical marijuana use and research to file
a brief in order to "clarify and amplify the assertions made [by]
Michael Krawitz regarding his individual standing", and to "more fully
explain precisely the nature of the injury that gives him standing".
ASA
said they hope that if they can demonstrate that Krawitz was harmed by a
federal policy that says medical marijuana has no medical value, they
may also get the court to rule on the merit of the case. In that case,
it would decide whether the scientific evidence is enough to reclassify
the drug from its current status as a schedule 1 substance
