United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative

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United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 28, 2001 Decided May 14, 2001
Full case name	United States of America v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
Citations	532 U.S. 483 (more) 121 S. Ct. 1711; 149 L. Ed. 2d 722; 2001 U.S. LEXIS 3518
Case history
Prior	United States v. Cannabis Cultivators Club, 5 F. Supp. 2d 1086 (N.D. Cal. 1998); reversed sub. nom., United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 190 F.3d 1109 (9th Cir. 1999); cert. granted, 531 U.S. 1010 (2000).
Holding
There is no medical necessity defense to a charge under the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 841 et seq.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy
Concurrence	Stevens (in judgment), joined by Souter, Ginsburg
Breyer took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
21 U.S.C. § 841 et seq.

In United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 532 U.S. 483 (2001), the United States Supreme Court rejected the common-law medical necessity defense to crimes enacted under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970,^[1] regardless of their legal status under the laws of states such as California that recognize a medical use for marijuana.^[2] Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative was represented by Gerald Uelmen.