'Medicinal marijuana' outlawed
2005-06-06 22:05
Washington - The United States supreme court refused on Monday to sanction the use of marijuana for medical purposes, dashing the hopes of thousands of patients illicitly using the substance for pain relief.
By a vote of six to three, the US court refused permission for 10 states to allow residents to use the drug with a doctor's permission and under highly-regulated conditions.
The case was brought by two California women, Angel McClary Raich and Diane Monson.
Raich suffers from an inoperable brain tumour, and insists that marijuana is the only remedy that alleviates her pain and allows her to keep down enough food to stay alive.
Monson smokes marijuana to handle severe back pain.
Since 1996, California has allowed residents to cultivate cannabis for personal use if medically prescribed, a move followed by nine other states.
She says she smokes marijuana provided by friends every two hours, which has allowed her to regain some mobility.