COURT REVERSES MARIJUANA RULING

WASHINGTON- Congress had the right to block District of Columbia residents
from voting on whether to legalize marijuana for medical use, a federal
appeals court ruled Friday.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia said the Constitution gives Congress exclusive power to define
the district's legislative authority.

Also, a congressional act barring D.C. residents from putting the
legalization of marijuana on the ballot does not violate their First
Amendment right to free speech.

Voters had passed a referendum legalizing marijuana in 1998, but Congress,
which appropriates money for district elections, blocked the effort through
legislation. The Marijuana Policy Project then challenged the
constitutionality of the act by suing the District of Columbia Board of
Elections and Ethics.

The Marijuana Policy Project is leading the effort to give district voters
the opportunity to legalize marijuana for seriously ill patients to use if
their physicians recommended it.

A phone call to the group about the ruling reversal was not immediately
returned.