The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that marijuana could be used in cases of "medical necessity" under California's Proposition 215. Marijuana clubs in Oakland, shut down by a 1998 court ruling, were allowed to open and dispense the drug to qualifying patients.

But the Clinton administration said the ruling undermines federal drug laws, and that the decision is in direct conflict with the U.S. Congress' finding that marijuana has no currently accepted medical use. Papers filed by the U.S. Justice Department stated that the ruling "threatens the government's ability to enforce the federal drug laws in the nine states within the 9th Circuit."

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who had requested that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno leave the appellate ruling intact, was disappointed in the appeal. According to Lockyer's spokesman Nathan Barankin, the ruling by the appellate court was "a thoughtful policy in this state that was not clearly articulated in Proposition 215, and that is respectful of the needs of sick people and also of legitimate public-safety concerns."

The Supreme Court is scheduled to decide this fall whether to review the case or leave the appellate decision intact.