Based in Berkeley, California, our legal affairs team focuses on three areas: (1) legislative and initiative drafting at the state level on a range of drug policy reform issues; (2) litigation and legal consulting to protect rights threatened by the drug war; and (3) legal training at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Legal Advocacy

Gardner et al. v. Schwarzenegger et al.

The Drug Policy Alliance is engaged in a legal battle against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other public officials over the fate of Proposition 36, California's landmark treatment-instead-of-incarceration initiative.

On July 12, 2006, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 1137, which would radically change Prop 36 by allowing judges to incarcerate people who suffer drug relapses during treatment.  Within hours of the governor’s signature, the Drug Policy Alliance, the California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM), and Cliff Gardner, the official ballot proponent of Prop 36, filed a complaint in Alameda County Superior Court to strike down SB 1137 as unconstitutional.  DPA and CSAM also immediately sued to block implementation of the law.

• Background
• Documents

Raich v. Ashcroft

In February 2004, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of medical marijuana patients and their caregivers in Raich v. Ashcroft, a case funded by the Drug Policy Alliance. However, in June 2005 the United States Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision in a 6-3 ruling allowing the federal government to prosecute medical marijuana patients, even in states where medical marijuana is legal. However, state laws remain unchanged, and with 99% of marijuana arrests taking place at the state or local level, state medical marijuana laws provide substantial protection for patients and their caregivers.

• Background
• Amicus Brief
• Outcome 

Hawaii v. Aiwohi

In December 2005, the Hawai'i Supreme Court overturned a lower court manslaughter conviction that said women can be prosecuted for the death of their children because of potentially harmful conduct while pregnant. The Drug Policy Alliance joined leading public health organizations against criminalizing pregnant women.

The case had its origins in October 2003 when Tayshea Aiwohi, a 31-year-old Native Hawaiian, was indicted for manslaughter on the theory that her ingestion of methamphetamine during pregnancy contributed to the death of her 2-day-old son, Treyson. (Treyson, who was born approximately four weeks premature, died at home hours after being released from the hospital).
For more information, please reference:

• Background
• Amicus Brief
• Outcome

Gonzales v. Oregon

The Drug Policy Alliance’s legal office also submitted a friend-of-the-court brief in July 2005 in the U.S. Supreme Court case Gonzales v. Oregon, centering on the federal Controlled Substances Act component in that state’s right-to-die law, which passed in 1997. The brief argued that the U.S. Attorney General did not have the authority to unilaterally implement the federal Controlled Substances Act in a manner inconsistent with state law.

In January 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the freedom of states to control their own public health policies in a 6-3 ruling that upheld Oregon's Death With Dignity Act.

• Background
• Amicus Brief
• Outcome

Ross v. Ragingwire

On July 24, 2006, the Drug Policy Alliance filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in the California Supreme Court on behalf of leading public health organizations in the case of Ross v. Ragingwire Telecommunications, Inc. In December 2005, DPA filed an amicus letter with the State Supreme Court urging the Court to review the case and overturn the lower court decision. Shortly after receiving the letter, the Supreme Court agreed to take the Ross case. The amicus brief supports the appeal of Gary Ross, a medical marijuana patient under California's Compassionate Use Act, who was fired by his employer after testing positive for medical marijuana he used during off-hours in accordance with his doctor’s recommendation for the treatment of severe pain. The outcome of the Ross case has the potential to affect the ability of thousands of Californians suffering from debilitating medical conditions and chronic pain to effectively manage their health care while remaining active and productive members of the workforce.

• Amicus Brief
• Background
• Amicus Letter 
• Grant of Certiorari

Projects

Medical Marijuana
Post-Conviction Consequences of War on Drugs
Pain Medication
Protection of Individual Liberties
Treatment Instead of Incarceration
Drug Testing
Prosecution of Pregnant Women who use Drugs
Syringe Access and Community Opposition to Harm Reduction Programs
Employment Discrimination

Contact Information

Office of Legal Affairs
819 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94710
510.229.5212 phone
legalaffairs@drugpolicy.org

The Office of Legal Affairs has an extensive legal internship program. The Office of Legal Affairs is unable to provide direct legal representation. To find an attorney, consult our attorney referrals page.