MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS SUE FEDERAL OFFICIALS

OAKLAND, Calif. - Two medical marijuana users filed suit Wednesday against
federal authorities in an effort to try to stop government raids on pot used
by sick patients.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oakland, argues U.S. Attorney
General John Ashcroft and Drug Enforcement Administration director Asa
Hutchinson are violating the Fifth, Ninth and 10th amendments as well as a
commerce clause by cracking down on medical marijuana use.

Plaintiffs Angel McClary Raich of Oakland and Diane Monson of Oroville say
they require medical marijuana to help ease the pain of their illnesses.
Raich suffers from wasting syndrome, nausea and a brain tumor, and Monson
endures chronic pain and spasms, said attorney Robert Raich, who is Angel's
husband.

"We are seeking the right of these patients to obtain the medicine they
absolutely need free from fear of reprisal from the federal government," he
said.

Robert Raich said he will seek an injunction prohibiting the federal
government from bothering medical marijuana patients and their growers. The
suit charges federal raids on medical marijuana growers are threatening
people's health and their lives. It also argues the federal government has
no jurisdiction for crackdowns within California, since the pot is grown and
distributed within the state and does not involve interstate commerce.

California is one of eight states that allow pot to be grown and distributed
to people with a doctor's prescription. Federal law prohibits all use of
marijuana.

DEA spokesman Will Glaspy said he had not seen the complaint and could not
comment on it. Calls to Ashcroft's office seeking comment were not
immediately returned Wednesday.