Ex-NFL star Marvin Washington files marijuana lawsuit against Jeff Sessions
By
Oscar Pascual on July 25, 2017 at 1:47
PM
Jeff Sessions is about to feel the heat from a former NFL defensive end. The attorney general will soon have to face ex-San Francisco 49er Marvin Washington, one of five plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Sessions, the DOJ and the Drug Enforcement Agency, reports the New York Post. The lawsuit challenges the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug with no medical value, alongside far more dangerous drugs such as heroin and meth. “Classifying cannabis as a ‘Schedule I drug’ is so irrational that it violates the U.S. Constitution,” the lawsuit contends. Washington has become a vocal advocate of medical marijuana use since his retirement in 1999, and joins a growing number of former football players who have lobbied for the NFL to allow cannabis as a non-addictive alternative to prescription opiates. The plaintiffs joining Washington includes 11-year-old Alexis Bortell, who uses cannabis to control her epilepsy, and disabled military veteran Jose Belen, who uses it to relieve symptoms of post-traumatic stress. “The record makes clear that the CSA doesn’t make any rational sense and the federal government knows it,” said attorney Michael Hiller, who represents Washington and the other plaintiffs. The lawsuit comes at a troubling time for Sessions. President Donald Trump recently told press that he never would have appointed the AG position had he known that Sessions would recuse himself from the ongoing Russia investigation. Smell The Truth is one of the internet’s most popular destinations for cannabis-related news and culture. This blog is not written or edited by SFGate or the San Francisco Chronicle. The authors are solely responsible for the content.
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