Supreme Court to Decide Medical Marijuana Case

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Supreme

Court to Decide Medical Marijuana Case

By Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news

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sites) agreed on Monday to decide whether a law outlawing marijuana applies

to medical use by two seriously ill California women whose doctors recommended

cannabis for their pain.

Reuters Photo

The high court said it would

review a ruling that the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 cannot be applied

constitutionally to the manufacture, possession and distribution without charge

of marijuana for medical use.

The ruling by a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco found the two women had

demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on their claim that the federal

law, as applied to them, is an unconstitutional use of Congress's power to

regulate commerce among the states.

" The cultivation,

possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and not for exchange or

distribution is not properly characterized as commercial or economic

activity, " the appeals court said.

It said marijuana used

for medical purposes was different from drug trafficking.

The lawsuit had been

brought in 2002 by Angel (news

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sites) Raich, who has an inoperable brain tumor and other medical problems,

and Diane Monson, who suffers from severe back pain. Their doctors recommended

they use marijuana to relieve their pain.

Monson cultivates her

own marijuana while two of Raich's caregivers grow the marijuana and provide it

to her free of charge. In 2002, Drug Enforcement Administration agents

destroyed six cannabis plants seized from Monson's home.

Their lawsuit against

Attorney General Ashcroft (news

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sites) and the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration sought a court

order barring the government from enforcing the federal drug law, as applied to

their conduct.

A federal judge denied

their request, but the appeals court overturned the ruling.

Solicitor General

Theodore Olson of the Justice Department (news

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sites) appealed to the Supreme Court.

He said the appeals

court ruling has partially invalidated an act of Congress and

" substantially undermines " the government's enforcement of the

federal drug law.

California and at least seven other states -- Alaska,

Colorado, Hawaii,

Maine, Nevada,

Oregon and Washington -- have laws allowing medical use

of marijuana, Olson said.

Another seven states -- Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

and Utah --

are considering adopting their own medical marijuana laws, he said.

He said federal law

should take precedence over state law in the case.

Attorneys for the two

women urged the Supreme Court to reject the government's appeal. They said the

case implicated " the fundamental right to alleviate unnecessary pain and

agony and protect bodily integrity. "

The justices will hear arguments

and then rule in the case during their term that begins in October.

The Supreme Court last

ruled on the issue in 2001 when it said California

cannabis clubs may not distribute marijuana as a " medical necessity "

for seriously ill patients.