WIN FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

Proponents of medical marijuana won a landmark victory in the US
yesterday when an appeals court ruled the US Government could not
prosecute two women who used the drug for pain relief, nor could it
prosecute their suppliers.

"I'm ecstatic about what this decision will do, not only for me but
for hundreds of thousands of patients across the country," said Angel
McClary Raich, a medical marijuana patient who brought the successful
lawsuit against US Attorney-General John Ashcroft.

"Not too many people get to come up against someone who is as evil as
John Ashcroft and win, and that feels very good."

Ms Raich and supporters said the decision of the Ninth US Circuit
Court of Appeals in San Francisco set an important precedent in the
medical marijuana debate, which has put some liberal US states at
loggerheads with Washington.

For example, US prosecutors have long argued that California's 1996
law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes was superseded
by federal laws that ban the use or cultivation of the drug for any
purpose.

But the appeals court panel ruled 2-1 that prosecuting medical
marijuana users under federal law was unconstitutional if the
marijuana was not sold or transported across state lines, or used for
non-medicinal purposes.

The ruling covers seven western states that have passed medical
marijuana laws: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon
and Washington.

The ruling was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Ms Raich, fellow patient
Diane Monson and two marijuana growers that said Mr Ashcroft and US
Drug Enforcement Agency administrator Karen Tandy had exceeded their
authority by embarking on a campaign of seizing privately grown
medical cannabis from California patients and caregivers.

If the case is not appealed, it will be returned to a district court,
which will issue an injunction protecting Ms Raich and Ms Monson from
arrest by federal agents.

But legal analysts said an appeal was likely and that rulings of the
liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals were frequently overturned by
the US Supreme Court.

The two women argued that their use of marijuana constituted a medical
necessity.