WASHINGTON (AP) -- A high school principal was acting reasonably and in accord with the school's anti-drug mission when she suspended a student for displaying a "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner, her lawyer told the Supreme Court Monday.
"The message here is, in fact, critical," the lawyer, former independent counsel Kenneth Starr, said during a lively argument about whether the principal violated the constitutional rights of the student.
On the other side, attorney Douglas Mertz of Juneau, Alaska, urged the justices to see the case as being about free speech, not drugs. (Watch why "bong hits" are on the court's plate )
The dispute between Joseph Frederick, who in 2002 was a high school senior, and principal Deborah Morse has become an important test of the limits on the free speech rights of students.
LOS ANGELES: It has been billed as the most important student free-speech case since the Vietnam War. The justices of the US Supreme Court are poised to decide whether a school was wrong to punish a student for displaying a banner reading "Bong hits for Jesus".
Five years ago Joseph Frederick, then an 18-year-old student at a high school in Juneau, Alaska, spelled out the phrase in gaffer tape on a four-metre banner. His aim, he said, was to get on television as the Olympic torch for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics passed through town - and to annoy his principal.
Stop the Drug War (DRCNet) is an international organization working for an end to drug prohibition worldwide and for interim policy reform in US drug laws and criminal justice system. Read more about DRCNet.
Jesus used Marijuana
As doubtful as the following hypothesis might first seem to the reader, I might as well boldly state my case right from the start: either Jesus used marijuana or he was not the Christ. The very word "Christ", by the implication of its linguistic origins and true meaning, gives us the most profound evidence that Jesus did in fact use the same herb as his ancient semitic ancestors, and which is still used by people around the world for its enlightening and healing properties.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of pain. And not just pain, but severe, crippling pain—the kind of pain you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
For years, people in less than a dozen states have been smoking medical marijuana to help cope with such things as brain tumors and multiple sclerosis. The federal government, however, sees such attempts at pain relief as selfish. These people are undermining the war on drugs, the feds say. And, last week, the Supreme Court agreed. In a 6-3 ruling, the court confirmed that federal anti-drug laws overrule state medical marijuana laws. Federal power is far more important than some cancer-havin’ stoner’s excruciating pain. So now the feds can feel free to bust anyone who smokes, grows, prescribes, or distributes medical marijuana, even if they live in one of the few states where doing so was approved democratically.
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