Court Allows Medicinal Use of MarijuanaBy DEAN E. MURPHY
Published: February 27, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 26 — The federal appeals court here has refused to reconsider its ruling that allows Californians to grow and use marijuana to treat their illnesses.
The Bush administration had asked the court, for the Ninth Circuit, to hold a new hearing on that ruling, issued by a three-judge panel in December on a lawsuit filed by two women with chronic illnesses. But in an order issued Wednesday and made public on Thursday, the court denied the request.
Justice Department officials declined to comment on the order or whether it would be appealed to the Supreme Court. Medicinal-marijuana advocates said it would allow tens of thousands of people in California and six other Western states with laws that permit such marijuana use to continue it without fearing federal prosecution.
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