On Thursday, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach wrote in a New York Times article that he had been using marijuana at “great personal risk” to fight the nausea, and other ill effects of his chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer. The judge, raising his voice in favor of using medical marijuana wrote, “This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and a human rights issue.” Reichbach, who has been 21 years on the bench, continues to preside over cases at the Kings County Supreme Court.
Previously, appeals court Judge Douglas Ginsburg, in 1987, lost his nomination to the Supreme Court after admitting to have puffed marijuana in the 60s and 70s. Another Georgia judge was removed from the bench in 2011 for admitting to smoking marijuana.
Under the law of New York, first time possession of less than 25 grams of marijuana is punishable with a fine of up to $100. And under the Code for Judicial Conduct in New York, judges must respect and comply with the law. So the editorial comments of the judge suffering from cancer and taking medical marijuana to alleviate pain can cost him his reputation, credibility, and all contributions made to the society of this nation. If marijuana is sold through licensed channels then pockets around the country would run dry for the flow of bribes from the black market would stop. So, even though in many other developed nations, the use of medical marijuana is entirely legal, it would continue to be illegal in this country.
Ellen Yoroshefsky, a law professor at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law told Reuters, “It's brave and wonderful, but it's heart-wrenching … There are key moments in history where a judge makes a bold stand. This is one of the moments, and we should be proud of it.”
A spokesman for the state court system, David Bookstaver, refused to comment on whether the judge would be facing any disciplinary action but said, “Everyone's thoughts in the court system are with Justice Reichbach as he battles a very serious disease.”
Monroe Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University told the media, “He has admitted to unlawful conduct … ordinarily, that could be a problem, but it's a very narrow, specific situation and I would hope nothing would come of it that would be adverse to the judge.”
A poll released on Wednesday by the Siena Research Institute shows that 57 percent of New Yorkers support establishing a legal framework for allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for cancer, chronic pain and other illnesses.
A New York Assembly committee, on Tuesday, approved medical-marijuana legislation, but a spokesman for the state Senate Republican majority told the media that the chamber was unlikely to act on the measure.
