Mon Jun 6, 2005 1:19 PM ET
By James ViciniWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal government has the power to prevent sick patients from smoking home-grown marijuana that a doctor recommended to relieve chronic pain, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a setback for the medical marijuana movement.
The 6-3 ruling means the federal government can enforce a federal law prohibiting the cultivation, possession and use of medical marijuana even where it is legal under state law. At least nine states allow medical use of marijuana.
Justice John Paul Stevens said for the court majority that the federal law, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, was a valid exercise of federal power by the U.S. Congress "even as applied to the troubling facts of this case" involving two seriously ill California women. [emphasis mine --SG]
More in link