The case pits the federal government against the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative in California. The state, which passed a medical-marijuana law in 1996, has been in conflict ever since with federal narcotics laws that prohibit distribution of marijuana.

In 1998, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco, Calif., ruled in favor of the Justice Department and barred the Oakland club from openly distributing marijuana.

But a U.S. appeals court ruled that Breyer should amend the injunction to allow the club to provide marijuana to those who can prove that the drug was a medical necessity. In July, Breyer allowed the club to give marijuana to sick people facing "imminent harm" from serious medical conditions and to those who did not respond to legal alternatives to marijuana.

The Justice Department appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the case presented "an issue of exceptional and continuing importance." Federal officials claimed that the appeals court disregarded the provisions of federal law banning marijuana distribution outside strictly controlled circumstances and undermined enforcement of federal drug laws.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case next year. A decision could be made as early as June.

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