CALIF. CITY SEEKS RIGHT TO DISTRIBUTE POT

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The city of Santa Cruz has asked a federal judge
to approve its plan to distribute medical marijuana directly to sick
and dying patients through a new Office of Compassionate Use.

The city, along with the American Civil Liberties Union and the
advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance, filed a federal complaint
Tuesday urging the government to allow the newly created city
department to provide the drug to patients.

City officials said they will not distribute marijuana unless Santa
Cruz wins the legal battle. Several California cities and counties
already have programs to dispense medical marijuana to thousands of
registered users.

California law has allowed medical marijuana use since voters
approved Proposition 215 in 1996, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
over the summer that the federal government can continue to prosecute users.

California is one of 12 states where medical marijuana is legal. The
court complaint argues that the U.S. Constitution leaves it up to
states -- not the federal government -- to decide whether cities can
distribute marijuana to sick patients.