Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/321711
ByAndrewTaylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON Libertarian- minded and moderate Re- publicans joined forces early Friday morning with Demo- crats in an early morning House vote to block the fed- eral government from inter- fering with states that per- mit the use of medical mar- ijuana. The unusual coalition pro- duced a surprising 219-189 vote in the GOP-controlled House that reflects more permissive public attitudes toward medical pot use. It ran counter to the drug's of- ficial classification as holding "no currently accepted med- ical use" and a "high poten- tial for abuse." Friday's vote came as the House debated a bill fund- ing the Justice Department's budget. Forty-nine Republi- cans joined all but 17 Dem- ocrats who voted in approv- ing a provision to block the Justice Department from interfering with state laws permitting the "use, distri- bution, possession or cultiva- tion of medical marijuana." The amendment by con- servative GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Califor- nia — the first state to le- galize medical marijuana — came as almost half the states have legalized mari- juana for medical uses, such as improving the appetites of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Other states permit the use of a nonpsy- choactive marijuana extract to treat epilepsy. The measure doesn't ad- dress the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes in Colorado and Washington, where voters have legalized it over objec- tions from most elected of- ficials. But it comes as the public is taking an increas- ingly permissive view to- ward medical pot use, par- ticularly to help people suf- fering from chronic pain and nausea. "Public opinion is shift- ing," Rohrabacher said, not- ing a recent Pew Research Center survey that found 61 percent of Republicans sup- port medical marijuana. The numbers are higher for inde- pendents and Democrats. "Despite this overwhelm- ing shift of public opinion, the federal government con- tinues its hard line of oppres- sion against medical mari- juana," he said. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., told opponents that "this train has already left the station." While almost 4 out of 5 Republicans op- posed the amendment, it picked up GOP supporters from libertarians like Jus- tin Amash, R-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and moderates such as Fred Up- ton, R-Mich., and Jon Run- yan, R-N.J. Democrats op- posed were typically more moderate The move by the House would wipe away the sticky issues that arise from a fun- damentalquestionassociated with state-approved sales of pot: How do you legally reg- ulate the production, distri- bution, sale and use of mar- ijuana for medical purposes when federal law bans all of the above? Federal agents in recent years have raided storefront dispensaries in California and Washington, seizing cash and pot. "This is essentially say- ing, 'Look, if you are follow- ing state law ... the feds just can't come in and bust you and bust the doctors and bust the patient," said Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif. The government has de- ferred to states regarding enforcement of pot posses- sion and instead focuses on preventing distribution to minors and keeping pot prof- its from going to organized criminal enterprises. Mar- ijuana is a Schedule I drug under a landmark 1970 drug law, meaning the govern- ment deems it to have "no currently accepted medical use" and a "high potential for abuse." WASHINGTON GOPHousebacksstate medical marijuana laws By Lisa Leff The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Medicare can no longer automatically deny coverage requests for sexreassignmentsurgeries,a federalboardruledFridayina groundbreakingdecisionthat recognizestheproceduresare medically necessary for peo- ple who don't identify with their biological sex. Rulinginfavorofa74-year- old transgender Army vet- eran whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago, the agency's DepartmentalAppealsBoard saidtherewasnojustification for a three-decade-old HHS ruleexcludingsuchsurgeries from procedures covered by the national health program for the elderly and disabled. "Sometimes I am asked aren't I too old to have sur- gery. My answer is how old is too old?" the veteran, De- nee Mallon, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said in an email interviewbeforetheboardis- sueditsdecision."Whenpeo- ple ask if I am too old, it feels liketheyareimplyingthatit's a 'waste of money' to operate atmyage.ButIcouldhavean active life ahead of me for an- other20 years.And I want to spend those years in congru- ence and not distress." Jennifer Levi, a lawyer whodirectstheTransgender Rights Project of Gay & Les- bian Advocates and Defend- ers in Boston, said the ruling does not mean Medicare re- cipients are necessarily enti- tledtohavesexreassignment surgery paid for by the gov- ernment. Instead, the lifting of the coverage ban means they now will be able to seek au- thorization by submitting documentationfromadoctor andmentalhealthprofession- alsstatingthatsurgeryisrec- ommendedintheirindividual case, Levi said. No statistics exist on how many people might be af- fected by the decision. Gary Gates, a demographer with The Williams Institute, a think tank on LGBT issues based at the University of California, Los Angeles, has estimated that people who self-identify as transgender make up 0.3 percent of the U.S. adult population. Over 49 million Americans are en- rolled in Medicare. The cost of gender reas- signment surgery varies, but typically ranges from $7,000 to $50,000, according to the Transgender Law Center in Oakland. In Friday's ruling, the ap- peals board said that HHS lacked sufficient evidence in 1981 when it made a "na- tional coverage determina- tion" holding that Medicare recipients were ineligible for whatitthencalled"transsex- ualsurgery"becausethepro- cedurewastoocontroversial, experimental, and medically risky. HEALTH Medicare ban on sex-change surgery li ed CRAIGFRITZ—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Denee Mallon, center, joins a candlelight vigil organized by Albuquerque Pride in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday. A U.S. Department of Health and Services review board ruled Friday in favor of Mallon, a 74-year-old Army veteran, whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago. By Nedra Pickler The Associated Press WASHINGTON White House press secretary Jay Carney became the news instead of just delivering it Friday, when President Barack Obama unexpect- edly interrupted the daily media briefing to announce Carney's resignation after three and a half years as his primary spokesman. Obama said it was "bit- tersweet" to see his friend Carney step down and an- nounced that principal dep- uty press secretary Josh Earnest will take over the job. Carney said the ulti- mate transition will take place around mid-June, but Earnest will take his place traveling next week on Obama's trip to Europe. Carney brought rare but practical experience to the job as a former reporter who once covered the White House for Time magazine. Heleft journalism tobecome communicationsdirectorfor VicePresidentJoeBidenand subsequently moved over to serve as Obama's press sec- retary in 2011. "He comes to this place with a reporter's perspec- tive," Obama told report- ers after interrupting Car- ney midsentence as he re- sponded to a question on Ukraine in the Brady Press Briefing Room. "That's why, believeitornot,Ithinkhewill miss hanging out with you." A key component of a White House press secre- tary'sjobistoregularlyjoust with reporters in an intense question-and-answer ses- sion. Obama said he is put- tingthe"flakjacket"fordeal- ingwiththepressonanother friend in Earnest, who has workedwithObamasince he was his communications di- rector for the Iowa caucuses in the 2008 campaign. The affable Earnest is well-liked within the White House press corps, and re- porters applauded the an- nouncement. Earnest is a native of Kansas City, Mis- souri, and Obama noted he still roots for the hometown baseballteam,theRoyals,as the son of an athletic coach. Obama also teased Ear- nest for being the "golden voice and dulcet tones" that narrates West Wing Week, the weekly recap of White House events on YouTube. Earnest, who is expecting his first child with his wife, Treasury Department offi- cial Natalie Wyeth, told re- porters he's "grateful and excited and relishes the op- portunity to spend the next couple of years with you." WASHINGTON Obama says goodbye to White House press secretary | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, MAY 31, 2014 4 B