The Supreme Court has just voted 6-3 to rule that the federal government can prosecute people who use marijuana for medical reasons.
Looks like if you use Viagra in federal prison, you're being a good American citizen. But if you've got a fatal brain tumor and use a plant THAT GROWS OUT OF THE GROUND then you're a threat to decency and must be eradicated.
http://www.themoderatevoice.com/posts/1118124836.shtml
The court's 6-3 decision was filled with sympathy for two seriously ill California women who brought the case, but the majority agreed that federal agents may arrest even sick people who use the drug as well as the people who grow pot for them.
Justice John Paul Stevens, an 85-year-old cancer survivor, said the court was not passing judgment on the potential medical benefits of marijuana, and he noted "the troubling facts" in the case. However, he said the Constitution allows federal regulation of homegrown marijuana as interstate commerce.
The Bush administration has taken a hard stand against state medical marijuana laws, but it was unclear how it would respond to the new prosecutorial power. Justice Department spokesman John Nowacki would not say whether prosecutors would pursue cases against individual users.
The only good news is that Justice Paul Stevens has suggested that the law be changed in order to allow medical marijuana users to continue without fear of prosecution. I'll be holding my breath...