Lawsuit to Prolong Medical Marijuana Use Is Dismissed

PHILADELPHIA —  A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit brought by 165 people who sought to extend a government program allowing people to use marijuana for medical purposes.

U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz ruled that the government acted properly when it ended its “compassionate use” program in 1992. The program, begun in 1970, had allowed certain people to use marijuana for medical reasons, but has slowly been phased out.

Only eight patients nationwide, some of whom have cancer and glaucoma, still receive marijuana under the program.

The plaintiffs sought the freedom to use marijuana “without control or interference” by the government.

“If the government allows eight people to get it, then all people who need it should be able to get it,” their attorney, Lawrence Hirsch, had argued at a hearing.