MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW UPHELD

SAN FRANCISCO - Ailing Californians who use or grow marijuana with a
physician-s approval are protected by state law from prosecution, the
California Supreme Court decided unanimously Thursday.

In its first review of a 1996 medical marijuana initiative, the court said
medical users who are arrested may have the charges dismissed if a doctor
has approved use of the drug.

The ruling overturns the felony conviction of a blind diabetic who was
arrested after police spotted 31 marijuana plants growing in the yard of
his home in Tuolumne County.

"The possession and cultivation of marijuana is no more criminal - so long
as its conditions are satisfied - than the possession and acquisition of
any prescription drug with a physician's prescription," Chief Justice
Ronald George wrote.

Until Thursday, all major rulings on Proposition 215, the state's medical
marijuana law, have been made by federal courts. The U.S. Supreme Court, in
a case on the California initiative, ruled that there is no medical
exception for the use of marijuana under federal law.

But individual users and growers in California generally are prosecuted in
state courts, which are required to follow Thursday's ruling.