FEDERAL RULING'S DONE LITTLE TO STEM MEDICAL POT USE

SAN FRANCISCO -- In the month since the U.S. Supreme Court said it's
illegal to sell or possess marijuana for medical use, the decision
appears to be having little effect in the eight states with medical
marijuana laws.

"I dispense a couple pounds a month," said Jim Green, operator of the
Market Street Club, where business has thrived even after the May 14
ruling. "All of my clients have a legitimate and compelling need."

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and
Washington allow the infirm to receive, possess, grow or smoke
marijuana for medical purposes without fear of state prosecution.

Those states have done little to change since the Supreme Court ruled
federal law prohibits people from dispensing marijuana to the ill.
Some states have even moved to expand marijuana laws despite the
ruling.

State prosecutors say it's up to federal authorities, not them, to
enforce the court's decision.

"If the feds want to prosecute these people, they can," said Norm
Vroman, the district attorney in Northern California's Mendocino
County, where the sheriff issues medical marijuana licenses to
residents with a doctor's recommendation, or to people who grow the
marijuana for them.

In Maine, "state prosecutors aren't too involved with enforcing the
federal law," said state attorney general spokesman Chuck Dow.

In response to the high court's decision, however, Maine lawmakers
shelved an effort to supply marijuana to the ill.

The Bush administration, which inherited the medical marijuana fight
from President Clinton, has taken no public action to enforce the
ruling and has been silent about its next move.

"There's generally no comment about what the government will do in
the future in any context," said Mark T. Quinlivan, the Justice
Department's lead attorney in the Supreme Court case.

Leslie Baker, head of a federal drug-enforcement unit in Portland,
Ore., said last week that U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's
office has not given her guidance on how to respond to the ruling.
Oregon allows caregivers to grow and dispense marijuana for patients
who have a doctor's recommendation.

Baker declined to say what federal authorities may do in the state.

Meanwhile, Nevada lawmakers, abiding by a voter referendum, on June 4
adopted a medical marijuana measure that Gov. Kenny Guinn said he
would sign.