This Week: Advocates Mount Challenge to Schedule I Designation; Jury Aquits NJ Weedman in MJ Distribution Case; Texas College Student Opts to Let Jury Decide Marijuana Case;  Marijuana Inmate with Allergy Dies After Being Given Oatmeal; Brad Pitt Slams America’s Drug War; Sneak Peak Screening of New Documentary Legalize it!; and more.

LEGAL/POLITICS

Advocates Mount Challenge to Schedule I Designation — The federal Appeals Court for the DC Circuit heard an appeal this week in the case called Americans for Safe Access v Drug Enforcement Administration. The case is an appeal of the DEA’s rejection of a petition filed in 2002 seeking to change the placement of marijuana as a Schedule I drug per the Controlled Substances Act. Based on the scientific evidence, ASA and our fellow plaintiffs feel that it is simply untrue that cannabis is a drug with a “high potential for abuse” and “without accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” The hearing today offered a glimpse at the Court’s approach to this topic.

DC Court orders Supplemental Brief in Marijuana Classification Suit — Just hours after the U.S. Court of Appeal for the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in the federal landmark case Americans for Safe Access v. Drug Enforcement Administration, the court ordered supplemental briefing on the issue of “standing.” In a rare move, the request for additional briefing indicates that the court is taking the issue of medical marijuana very seriously.

Jury Aquits NJ Weedman in MJ Distribution Case — Here’s some great news: It’s getting harder and harder for hapless, overwhelmed prosecutors to get a marijuana conviction in the United States — even when the amount in question is a pound, and the charges are distribution, not simple possession.  Such became obvious Thursday afternoon in a Mount Holly, New Jersey, courtroom, when a jury found Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion not guilty in the cannabis activist’s marijuana distribution case, reports Danielle Camilli of PhillyBurbs.com.

Marijuana Inmate with Allergy Dies After Being Given Oatmeal– Although marijuana has never killed anyone in history, the marijuana laws have claimed another tragic victim.  Michael Saffioti, 22, who, upon his mother’s advice, had turned himself in to the Lynnwood Police Department after missing a court date, was dead after just one night in the Snohomish County Jail in Washington state, reports Molly Shen of KATU.com. The county could face a lawsuit for ignoring Saffioti’s food allergy.

Brad Pitt Slams America’s Drug War — Seated in a big leather armchair with popcorn and a Stella Artois beer on a Friday night in Los Angeles, Brad Pitt was ready to talk about drugs.  Minutes before, in a small theater downstairs, Pitt introduced director Eugene Jarecki’s documentary “The House I Live In” about the war on drugs with this confession: “My drug days are long since passed but it’s certainly true that I could probably land in any city in any state and get you whatever you wanted. I could find anything you were looking for. Give me 24 hours or so. And yet we still support this charade called the drug war. We have spent a trillion dollars. It’s lasted for over 40 years. A lot of people have lost their lives for it. And yet we still talk about it like it’s this success. ”

Texas College Student Opts to Let Jury Decide Marijuana Case — A Texas college student has elected to take his chances with a jury following his arrest for possession of marijuana. Possession of under two ounces of marijuana in Texas is a Class B-misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.

Meet the 17 Year Old Who Blew the Lid Off Racial Profiling with His i-Pod -- “We’re going to go out there and violate some rights.” Hear the secret police recordings that will take your breath away. In a bad way.

NORML Women’s Alliance LA Scraps Voter Ed Project Due to Lack of Candidate Interest — The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Women’s Alliance of Los Angeles have scrapped their voter education project for California Congressional Candidates in Los Angeles County districts as the group could only get 4 of the 34 Senatorial and Congressional candidates to even answer their requests for more information.

SUPPORT THE CAUSE/HAVE FUN!

LEAP Benefit Screening of Legalize It! — On Wednesday, October 24, 2012 Law Enforcement Against Prohibition will host a benefit in the Los Angeles area to draw support for the voice of law enforcement in drug policy reform. The evening will feature a first-look screening of the film Legalize It, a panel discussion from LEAP speakers and Legalize It producers and a special awards presentation honoring the heroes of California’s Proposition 19 movement, Richard Lee, Dale Sky Jones and Jeff Jones of Oaksterdam University. The screening will be held at the Art Theatre of Long Beach, and all proceeds from the evening will benefit LEAP.  Tickets start at just $10.00!