US SUPREME COURT RULES MARIJUANA HAS NO MEDICINAL VALUE

The US Supreme Court has ruled that marijuana may not be legally
distributed for medicinal purposes, because the US Congress has determined
it has none.

By an 8-0 vote, the court has decided that the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative in California violates federal law by distributing marijuana
for medicinal purposes, even though state law permits the practice.

An appeals court in San Francisco had accepted the cooperative's argument
that medical necessity could justify distributing the drug.

However, the Supreme Court says when Congress passed the Controlled
Substances Act making marijuana use illegal, it made no exception for
medical necessity.

Californians voted in a 1996 referendum to legalise the medical use of
marijuana in the state, but Washington has vowed to prosecute those who do,
under US federal law.