High Court Nixes Medical Pot
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court handed medical marijuana users a major defeat Monday, ruling that a federal law classifying the drug as illegal has no exception for ill patients.
The 8-0 decision was a major disappointment to many sufferers of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses. They have said the drug helped enormously in combating the devastating effects of their diseases.
Justice Stephen Breyer did not participate because his brother, a federal judge, initially presided over the case.
"In the case of the Controlled Substances Act, the statute reflects a determination that marijuana has no medical benefits worthy of an exception (outside the confines of a government-approved research project)," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the unanimous court.
Thomas noted the act states marijuana has "no currently accepted medical use."
The federal government triggered the case in 1998, seeking an injunction against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative and five other marijuana distributors.
Read more at wired
