SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to
decide whether a law outlawing marijuana applies to medical use by two
seriously ill California women whose doctors recommended cannabis for
their pain.

The high court said it would review a ruling that the Controlled
Substances Act of 1970 cannot be applied constitutionally to the
manufacture, possession and distribution without charge of marijuana
for medical use.

The ruling by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco found the two
women had demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on their claim
that the federal law, as applied to them, is an unconstitutional use
of Congress's power to regulate commerce among the states.

"The cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for medicinal
purposes and not for exchange or distribution is not properly
characterized as commercial or economic activity," the appeals court
said.

It said marijuana used for medical purposes was different from drug
trafficking.

The lawsuit had been brought in 2002 by Angel Raich, who has an
inoperable brain tumor and other medical problems, and Diane Monson,
who suffers from severe back pain. Their doctors recommended they use
marijuana to relieve their pain.

Monson cultivates her own marijuana while two of Raich's caregivers
grow the marijuana and provide it to her free of charge. In 2002, Drug
Enforcement Administration agents destroyed six cannabis plants seized
from Monson's home.

Their lawsuit against Attorney General John Ashcroft and the head of
the Drug Enforcement Administration sought a court order barring the
government from enforcing the federal drug law, as applied to their
conduct.

A federal judge denied their request, but the appeals court overturned
the ruling.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson of the Justice Department appealed to
the Supreme Court.

He said the appeals court ruling has partially invalidated an act of
Congress and "substantially undermines" the government's enforcement
of the federal drug law.

California and at least seven other states -- Alaska, Colorado,
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington -- have laws allowing
medical use of marijuana, Olson said.

Another seven states -- Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, New York,
Rhode Island, Vermont and Utah -- are considering adopting their own
medical marijuana laws, he said.

He said federal law should take precedence over state law in the
case.

Attorneys for the two women urged the Supreme Court to reject the
government's appeal. They said the case implicated "the fundamental
right to alleviate unnecessary pain and agony and protect bodily integrity."

The justices will hear arguments and then rule in the case during
their term that begins in October.

The Supreme Court last ruled on the issue in 2001 when it said
California cannabis clubs may not distribute marijuana as a "medical
necessity" for seriously ill patients.