COURT UPHOLDS MEDICAL POT USE

Federal Jurists In Calif. Say U.S. Ban Superseded; Colo. Has Similar Law

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a law
outlawing marijuana may not apply to sick people with a doctor's
recommendation in states that have approved medical marijuana laws.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling 2-1 in a rare
late-afternoon filing, said prosecuting these medical marijuana users
under a 1970 federal law is unconstitutional if the marijuana isn't
sold, transported across state lines or used for nonmedicinal purposes.

"The intrastate, noncommercial cultivation, possession and use of
marijuana for personal medical purposes on the advice of a physician
is, in fact, different in kind from drug trafficking," Judge Harry
Pregerson wrote for the majority.

The court added that "this limited use is clearly distinct from the
broader illicit drug market, as well as any broader commercial market
for medical marijuana, insofar as the medical marijuana at issue in
this case is not intended for, nor does it enter, the stream of commerce."

The decision was a blow to the Justice Department, which argued that
medical marijuana laws in nine states were trumped by the Controlled
Substances Act, which outlawed marijuana, heroin and a host of other
drugs nationwide.

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and
Washington state have laws similar to California's, which has been the
focus of federal drug interdiction efforts.

The appeals court, the nation's largest, does not have jurisdiction
over Colorado and Maine.

The case concerned two seriously ill California women who sued
Attorney General John Ashcroft. They asked for a court order letting
them smoke, grow or obtain marijuana without fear of federal
prosecution.

The case underscores the conflict between federal law and California's
1996 medical marijuana law, which allows people to grow, smoke or
obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's
recommendation.

A U.S. District judge tossed the case in March, saying the Controlled
Substances Act barred him from blocking any potential enforcement
action against medical marijuana patients Angel Raich and Diane
Monson. Tuesday's ruling sends the case back to the district judge.