JUDGE DENIES MEDICAL POT INJUNCTION

Ruling Allows Federal Government To Keep Treating Users As Criminals

A federal judge has refused to bar U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and
Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson from treating medical
marijuana patients as criminals.

Patients sued the government officials in October, claiming their civil
rights were violated by federal crackdowns on medical marijuana. The
federal government still deems all marijuana growth, possession or use
illegal, even though California voters approved medical marijuana in 1996.
Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington have
similar laws.

U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins of San Francisco held a hearing in
December on whether to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the
officials from acting while the case is pending, and issued his denial last
week.

"We will appeal the decision and we hope for a better ruling from the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals," said Oakland attorney Robert Raich,
representing the plaintiffs.