POT-SMOKING WOMEN MAY FACE PROSECUTION

A federal judge has refused to block the U.S. government from potentially
prosecuting two pot-smoking women whose doctors say marijuana is their only
medical solace.

In the first case of its kind, two California medical marijuana users sued
Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, seeking a court order allowing them to smoke,
grow or obtain marijuana without threat or fear of federal prosecution.

The case underscores the conflict between California's medical marijuana
law, which allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical
needs, and the federal government's refusal to acknowledge the state's 1996
voter-approved initiative approving such acts.