MEDICAL MARIJUANA WAR CONTINUES TO RAGE IN CALIFORNIA

The jurisdictional struggle over California's medical marijuana law took a
new turn last week when a federal judge offered a patient cooperative
protection from raids by armed agents. The U.S. Justice Department, however,
quickly moved to eliminate that protection by calling for a U.S. Supreme
Court review of the decision.

On Wednesday U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel granted a preliminary
injunction to the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) and denied
an attempt to dismiss a civil case brought by the cooperative to halt
federal interference in their operations. This was the Santa Cruz club
raided by armed agents at dawn - assault rifles aimed at patients in
wheelchairs - in September 2002.

Judge Fogel cited the December 2003 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeal in Raich v. Ashcroft, which ruled there is a constitutional
limitation to the application of the Controlled Substances Act, the 1970 law
that prohibits all use of marijuana. The court ruled that patients who grow
their own marijuana or receive it free do not affect interstate commerce,
and their activities are not subject to federal regulation.

Since 1996, of course, medical use of marijuana has been legal under
California law with a doctor's recommendation. Nobody has filed suit to
overturn the law on grounds that federal law takes precedence.

On the same day, however, the Justice Department asked urgently that the
U.S. Supreme Court review Judge Fogel's decision.

Angel Raich, the lead plaintiff in the case, put the matter in a nutshell:
"The government doesn't dispute that I would die without cannabis, but they
not only want to keep my medicine from me, they want the right to take me
from my children and see me die in prison."

The Supreme Court should let stand the district court decision.