On March 28, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case addressing whether medical marijuana distributors may offer a “medical necessity” defense in federal court. The Court’s ruling in U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative cannot overturn California’s medical marijuana law.
In the case, the U.S. Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to reverse the September 13, 1999 decision of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which permits entities to distribute marijuana if they can prove that their clients are seriously ill and have a legitimate medical need for the substance.
This case deals exclusively with federal law and is essentially limited to distribution issues: it does not question a state’s ability to allow patients to grow, possess, and use medical marijuana under state law.
Nearly 99 percent of all marijuana arrests in the nation are made by state and local (not federal) officials. Thus, California’s medical marijuana law effectively protects 99 out of every 100 medical marijuana users who otherwise would have been arrested and prosecuted – no matter what the Supreme Court rules in the Oakland case.
Robert Kampia,
executive director
Marijuana Policy Project, Washington, D.C.