US COURT RULES MARIJUANA HAS NO MEDICAL USE

The US supreme court yesterday dealt a major blow to the proponents of
medicinal marijuana by ruling that the drug had no legitimate medical
uses.

In a landmark decision, the court unanimously decided that there was
no basis to make an exception of marijuanaís illegal status for
patients with serious illnesses.

The ruling means in effect that marijuana cannot be legally used as a
medicine to ease the suffering of people afflicted with illnesses such
as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS.

It amounts to a rejection of the argument of some in the medical
profession who contend that marijuana can alleviate the side effects
of chemotherapy, save AIDS sufferers from wasting away and enable
those with MS to walk.

The ruling appears to nullify referendum results in eight US states,
including California, in which voters have opted to legalise marijuana
for medical purposes. Legislators in Hawaii passed a law last year
which would legalise the drug as a medicine.

Yesterdayís ruling stemmed from an injunction sought by the US
government in 1998 against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Co-operative
and five other marijuana distributors in California.

While the other distributors shut down, the Oakland co-operative
continued but restricted itself to registering potential marijuana
users while carrying on the legal fight.

A US federal court ruled in the governmentís favour, but that decision
was overturned by the 9th US circuit court of appeals, which argued
that medical use was a legitimate defence.

In an opinion accompanying yesterdayís ruling, however, Justice
Clarence Thomas - one of the US supreme courtís most conservative
members - wrote: "In the case of the Controlled Substances Act, the
statute reflects a determination that marijuana has no medical
benefits worthy of an exception (outside the confines of a
government-approved research project).

"Unwilling to view this omission as an accident, and unable in any
event to override a legislative determination manifest in a statute,
we reject the co-operativeís argument."

The supreme court voted 8-0 against legalising a medical use for
marijuana. A ninth justice, Stephen Breyer, recused himself on the
grounds that his brother, Charles, was the federal judge who had
originally ruled in the governmentís favour.

The US public has shown increasing tolerance in recent years for the
limited use of marijuana as a medically prescribed drug. A Gallup poll
for CNN yesterday showed that 73 per cent approved legalisation for
medical uses, although only 31 favoured legalising the drug entirely.