Court says U.S. can ban medical marijuana

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California woman with an inoperable brain tumour may not use marijuana to ease her pain even though California voters have approved medical marijuana, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

In a much-watched test case on medical marijuana, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found there is no fundamental right to use marijuana for medical purposes. The ruling agreed with a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The split three-judge opinion written by Judge Harry Pregerson expressed sympathy for some arguments by plaintiff Angel Raich, an Oakland resident with an inoperable brain tumour whose doctor testified she could die if she stopped smoking pot. But the ruling backed the 1970 federal Controlled Substances Act barring marijuana.

Raich, who suffers from a host of ailments as well as the brain tumour, said marijuana was keeping her alive by easing her pain and bolstering her appetite.

"The court has just sentenced me to death," Raich said in a statement. "My doctors agree that medical cannabis is essential to my very survival."

The court's decision said use of the drug for medical purposes was gaining support but federal law still banned it.

"We agree with Raich that medical and conventional wisdom that recognises the use of marijuana for medical purposes is gaining traction in the law as well," he wrote. "For now, federal law is blind to the wisdom of a future day when the right to use medical marijuana to alleviate excruciating pain may be deemed fundamental."

The ruling acknowledged the law could change if legislators reconsider the issue.