Medicine and the ADA

Recently a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge opined that Congress did not have cannabis in mind when it passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). And just how does that comport when the facts are that a person is actually disabled and benefits from this medicine and that the ADA calls for accommodation for the disabled? It appears as though we continue to have judges practicing medicine without a license. We have thousands of California doctors recommending cannabis.

Many people who use medicinal cannabis are disabled under the ADA (they have phantom limb pain, quadriplegia, below-knee amputation, brain damage and the like). Cities must have such accommodations as curb cuts, must require elevators in new buildings. There are few more important accommodations than being able to get the treatment your doctor recommends or prescribes. Blocking access to that medicine is just obscene. Saying it’s fine to prevent access to an effective affordable medicine with few side effects, recommended by your doctor is heinous.