Judges weed out medical cannabis

By Michael Gawenda

June 8, 2005

The US Supreme Court has ruled that federal authorities can arrest and prosecute people who, under state laws, are allowed to use marijuana prescribed by a doctor for medical reasons.

The ruling is a blow to the growing US movement for the use of marijuana for medical problems. Eleven states have passed laws legalising marijuana use prescribed by a doctor.

In California, the health departments of most big cities issue medical marijuana identification cards to people who have doctor's certificates that say they have medical conditions for which marijuana is a treatment. In San Francisco, there are 43 medical cannabis dispensaries, which supply marijuana to hundreds of people with problems ranging from cancer to chronic pain.

In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that despite state laws making medical marijuana use legal, federal laws, which classify it as a prohibited substance, take precedence.

In theory, this means that federal agencies, such as the FBI, can shut down California's legal marijuana farms, which supply the drug to people with medical certificates, and prosecute the owners for drug dealing. And people, many seriously ill, who legally buy marijuana can now be arrested and charged by federal authorities.

California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who before he was elected governor supported the California law that legalised marijuana for medical purposes, said: "It is now up to Congress to provide clarity for not only California but the other states that already have laws recognising the use of marijuana for medical purposes."

Justice Department spokesman John Nowacki would not say whether there would be increased activity by federal agents to shut down the medical marijuana industry.

Jeff Dorschner, a spokesman for the US Attorney in Colorado, said investigators would continue to target major marijuana growers, but if they came across crops grown legally under state laws, these crops would be seized and destroyed.

The Bush Administration had appealed against a decision by the federal court in California which had ruled that two seriously ill women had the right to grow six marijuana plants for personal use.

There has been increasing support by the medical profession for marijuana use for some medical conditions. But the director of National Drug Control Policy, John Walters, welcomed the Supreme Court decision, saying medical decisions should not be made on the basis of popular opinion.


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