By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court voted today to overturn a decision by a San Francisco federal appeals court that allowed the use of medicinal marijuana. The court ruled that in cases such as these, federal laws prevail over state laws and so the Feds can prosecute Californians for smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes. There goes having to worry about too many pot clubs in the city. Voting against the ruling were Chief Justice William Rehnquist (probably keeping his options open now that he's got cancer), Sandra Day O'Connor, and Clarence Thomas. Yep, Clarence Thomas. We always got the feeling he was a bit of a party boy.
As Yogi Berra might say, however, it ain't over til the fat guy sings and he ain't singing yet. Due to legal interpretations, the defendants still think they might be able to press on, but using a different argument. And while Oregon is going to stop issuing medicinal marijuana cards, California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said: "People shouldn't panic. There aren't going to be many changes." Indeed, the Supreme Court's ruling merely said that the Federal Government can prosecute if they want to but didn’t strike down medicinal marijuana laws that states like California have. Speculation is that despite the Court's ruling, the government wouldn't want the publicity that comes with wheeling sick old people into court for toking up. In fact, the decision, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, showed sympathy for those who have to use marijuana and suggested people take up the cause through the democratic process and that the executive branch might give a helping hand. Right. Like an administration currently refusing to hand out condoms
