San Diego Reader (05/22/12)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that medical marijuana use is not protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act. “We recognize that the plaintiffs are gravely ill, and that their request for ADA relief implicates not only their right to live comfortably, but also their basic human dignity,” judge Raymond Fisher wrote in the ruling. “Congress has made clear, however, that the ADA defines ‘illegal drug use’ by reference to federal, rather than state, law, and federal law does not authorize the plaintiffs’ medical marijuana use. We therefore necessarily conclude that the plaintiffs’ medical marijuana use is not protected by the ADA.”