Judge rules that the OTHER side of the drug debate can be advertised

[playahata1]

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/06_03_04istook.cfm

Enormous Victory for Alliance as Judge Tosses Rep. Istook's Free-Speech Gag
Thursday, June 3, 2004

Not allowing drug policy reform advertising on subways, trains and buses is blatantly unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled June 2 in a lawsuit filed by the Alliance and our partners against the federal government. The judge's decision effectively strikes down a law passed by Congress this year that prohibited the Drug Policy Alliance and other reform groups from buying ad space on the Washington, DC subway system to attack the unjust imprisonment of marijuana users.

At issue was the constitutionality of the so-called "Istook Amendment." The law, written by Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Okla.), cuts off $3 billion in federal transportation funds from transit agencies that accept ads critical of the federal government's cruel marijuana laws. Because the agencies that run local buses and trains all across the United States rely heavily on federal funding, the Istook Amendment effectively barred them from accepting the reform ads.

The Alliance, Change the Climate, the Marijuana Policy Project and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the federal government in February after the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) rejected an ad criticizing marijuana laws. In addition to the Alliance's lawsuit, about 10,000 Alliance supporters faxed their representatives and senators condemning the Istook law.

In an opinion and order, Judge Paul L. Friedman of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia found the Istook Amendment unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting its enforcement anywhere in the United States. Judge Friedman correctly noted that the federal government cannot ban certain types of speech because it disapproves of their content -- especially in light of the government's own advertising advocating for the punishment of marijuana users on these same trains and buses.

(more)

[Pithlet]

1. Great!

It's about time that unconstitutional crappy legislature was reversed.

[Kazak]

2. Woo!

That's fantastic. :D