COUNTY'S MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUIT REJECTED

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a lawsuit that sought to
challenge the validity of one of California's key medical marijuana
laws.

By refusing Monday to review the lawsuit brought in 2006 by San Diego
County and later joined by San Bernardino County, the court let stand
the state law requiring counties to issue identification cards to
qualified medical-marijuana patients.

The ID card program was adopted in 2004 under state State Bill 420,
the Medical Marijuana Program Act; the cards are meant to protect
patients by helping law enforcement officers discern protected medical
marijuana use from illicit recreational use.

The counties had claimed they didn't have to comply because the state
law was preempted by the federal ban on marijuana. But a San Diego
Superior Court judge and the California Court of Appeal ruled against
them, and the California Supreme Court had refused to review the case.
The national highest court's review was their final venue.

"The courts have made clear that federal law does not preempt
California's medical marijuana law and that local officials must
comply with that law," said Joe Elford, chief counsel with Americans
for Safe Access (ASA), a national medical marijuana advocacy group,
which represented patients in the county's lawsuit against the state.

Locally, medical marijuana advocates are thrilled.

"No longer can San Bernardino County claim that they cannot issue the
state ID card because it violates state law. The arrest, prosecution
and imprisonment of medical marijuana patients must stop and all
previous convictions in San Bernardino County must be vacated," said
Lanny Swerdlow in an e-mail.

Swerdlow is the director of the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, an
Inland Empire medical marijuana patient support group and law reform
organization.

While supporters say marijuana helps chronically ill patients relieve
pain, critics argue the drug has no medical benefit and all use should
be illegal.

"We think it's a victory for drug legalization groups - for the moment
- - and a loss for communities and children," said Ken Bridge, Inland
Valley Drug Free Community Coalition adviser, about the Supreme
Court's decision.

The Rancho Cucamonga-based organization works throughout San
Bernardino and Riverside counties to combat substance abuse through
education, prevention, treatment and enforcement, according to their
Web site, www.ivdfc.org.

Bridge said he understands that "courts are very busy with many
significant cases to hear," but he would have "loved for the court to
have taken to time to hear" the medical marijuana issue.

Bridge said he has not lost hope.

"The Supreme Court didn't hear the case, but it didn't rule in favor
medical marijuana groups," Bridge said.

San Diego supervisors had sued to overturn the state law after it was
approved by voters in 1996.

San Diego and San Bernardino counties argued that issuing
identification cards to eligible users, as required by the 1996 state
law, would violate federal law, which does not recognize the state
measure.

Patients and advocates will hold a demonstration at 11 a.m. today at
the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting at 385 N.
Arrowhead Ave. in San Bernardino, where they plan to tell the county
to immediately begin issuing the ID cards and implement all aspects of
Prop. 215 and SB 420, according to an E-mail from Swerdlow.

Patients want "an apology from the San Bernardino board for the
horrors that have occurred by allowing their law enforcement agencies
to continue arresting and prosecuting medical marijuana patients while
they were pursuing the lawsuit. Further, they should dig into their
pockets and reimburse the county for the fifty thousand taxpayer
dollars that were wasted in their malicious and mean spirited
lawsuit," Swerdlow said.

The Associated Press and the Oakland Tribune contributed to this
article.