NAKED CITY

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Medical marijuana advocates claimed a major victory Oct. 14, after the U.S.
Supreme Court declined to consider overturning a 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals decision barring the feds from punishing doctors who recommend
medical marijuana to their patients.

After California voters approved a medical marijuana law in 1996, the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administration and other agencies threatened to revoke the
DEA registration of any doctor who recommended medicinal marijuana -- that
would prevent the physician from prescribing any controlled substances for
their patients, effectively putting them out of business.

A group of doctors and patients sued and won, arguing that the punishment
violated their First Amendment rights, and the 9th Circuit upheld that
verdict. "By deciding not to hear this case, the Supreme Court has
eliminated any doubt that states have the right to protect medical marijuana
patients under state law," Robert Kampia, director of the Marijuana Policy
Project, said in a press release.

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