MARIJUANA LAW FIGHT TO CONTINUE

SAN FRANCISCO -- Justice Department attorneys said Thursday that they would
continue resisting California's voter-approved medical-marijuana law,
saying the government can revoke the licenses to dispense medication from
doctors who recommend cannabis.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup is expected to rule within weeks, and the
ruling could have broad implications. Measures similar to California's law,
which voters passed in 1996, have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.

Justice Department lawyer Joseph Lobue said federal law applies no matter
how states may have voted. "It doesn't matter what California says," he said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the lawsuit, contends the
government's position violates doctors' free speech rights.