Gustin Reichbach, the New York State Supreme Court Judge who passionately endorsed medical pot, dies at 65.
 
On Saturday, July 14, Judge Gustin Reichbach succumbed to pancreatic cancer after battling the disease for three and a half years. Just two months ago, Judge Reichbach wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times wherein he revealed that he had been using cannabis illegally in order to ease the pain that accompanies cancer. In the article, he wrote that it provided relief from the constant nausea, pain, and difficulty he experienced eating. He urged lawmakers to pass a medical marijuana bill this year. (This did not occur.)
 
Reichbach grew up in Brooklyn and attended Columbia Law School. He was an ardent Vietnam War protester in the 60s and member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), a nationwide, radical student activist movement, labeled a “domestic terrorist group” by the FBI. Reichbach’s radical politics delayed his admission to the state bar.
 
He worked as a New York City attorney for 20 years – legendary Yippie Abbie Hoffman was a client – prior to serving as a Brooklyn Civil Court judge. In 1999, he was elected to the New York State Supreme Court where he remained until his death. In all, he served 21 years as a judge.
 
Reichbach was a colorful jurist, tabbed the “condom judge” by New York City tabloids for distributing free condoms, AIDS counseling, and testing to prostitutes. Colleagues remember his creativity and insight.
 
“Gus was a courageous judge who made his decisions based on what he thought was the right thing and the rule of law,” said attorney Danny Alterman, a lifelong friend. “He was unafraid of any negative reaction or publicity.”
 
When he was diagnosed with cancer, doctors gave him only four to six months to live. He survived three and a half years. For the cannabis community, his legacy will certainly be his final words of advocacy for the plant: “When palliative care is understood as a fundamental human and medical right, marijuana for medical use should be beyond controversy,” Reichbach wrote for the Times.
 
“This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and human rights issue,” wrote Reichbach. “It is another heartbreaking aporia in the world of cancer that the one drug that gives relief without deleterious side effects remains classified as a narcotic with no medicinal value.”
 
More @ www.nytimes.com