Medical Use Ruled Out as Marijuana Defense

The state Supreme Court ruled Monday that persons charged with possessing marijuana cannot claim as a defense that they needed it for medicinal purposes.

The court reversed a 1984 appeals court ruling that said Michael Tate, a 23-year-old quadriplegic, could argue before a jury that he had no reasonable choice but to smoke marijuana to relieve recurrent muscle spasms. The case will now go to trial.