14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-Federal Court Upholds Use of Medical Marijuana
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Californians may continue to grow and use marijuana in certain cases to treat illness, a federal appeals court in San Francisco has decided.
The Ninth Circuit panel of three judges denied a request by the Bush Administration to review the court's own ruling made in December. Medical marijuana advocates say the move will allow Californians and people in six other Western states to continue to use marijuana to treat illness without fear of prosecution, The New York Times reports.
In the December decision, the judges voted 2-1 to allow personal medical use of marijuana upon a doctor's recommendation, saying it was not akin to drug trafficking.
The Justice Department refused initial comment on whether it plans to appeal the latest decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Times reports.
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