MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE DEALT SETBACK

SAN FRANCISCO -- A woman whose doctor says marijuana is the only
medicine keeping her alive can face federal prosecution on drug
charges, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The ruling was the latest legal defeat for Angel Raich, a mother of
two from Oakland suffering from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic
nausea and other ailments who sued the government preemptively to
avoid being arrested for using the drug. On her doctor's advice,
Raich eats or smokes marijuana every two hours to ease her pain.
Angel Raich is seen with cannabis buds at her home Monday, June 6,
2005, in Oakland, Calif. Raich, the California woman whose doctor
says marijuana is the only medicine keeping her alive, is not immune
from federal prosecution on drug charges, a federal appeals court
ruled Wednesday, March 14, 2007. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) (Ben Margot -
AP) From FindLaw Opinion: Raich v. Gonzales (pdf) U.S. Supreme Court
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The Supreme Court ruled against Raich in June 2005, saying medical
marijuana users and their suppliers could be prosecuted for breaching
federal drug laws even if they lived in a state such as California,
where medical use of the drug is legal.

When told of the decision, Raich, 41, began sobbing. "I'm sure not
going to let them kill me," she said.