Seeley v. Washington

Ralph Seeley (plaintiff) was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1986. Seeley underwent surgeries to remove his right lung and part of his left lung. Seeley received radiation and chemotherapy treatment for his cancer, including chemotherapeutic agents that caused nausea and vomiting. Seeley was treated with synthetic THC, an active ingredient in marijuana, for the nausea and vomiting. Seeley also smoked marijuana to control these side effects of the cancer treatment. Seeley believed that smoking marijuana was more effective in relieving his symptoms than other treatments. Seeley’s condition was terminal. THC had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical treatment, but marijuana had not been approved. A Washington court granted Seeley’s motion for a declaratory judgment that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance violated Seeley’s rights under the privileges and immunities clause of the Washington State constitution. Washington State (state) (defendant) appealed, arguing that classifying marijuana as a Schedule I substance was rationally related to the state’s legitimate interest in controlling drug abuse and assuring the efficacy and safety of medications. The parties presented conflicting expert testimony regarding the efficacy of marijuana as a medical treatment, its status as having an accepted medical use in the medical community, and the health risks associated with marijuana. The state also offered expert testimony concerning the difficulties of creating a standardized dosing system for marijuana in plant form, as opposed to THC synthesized from marijuana, due to the variety of active ingredients in different strains of marijuana. The state also offered specific evidence showing that marijuana was not more effective at treating nausea and vomiting than THC.