United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative

After California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act permitting medical marijuana under state law, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (defendant) began distributing cannabis to eligible patients despite a federal injunction obtained by the government under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA); when the Cooperative continued distributing anyway, the district court held it in contempt and later, on remand from the court of appeals, allowed a medical-necessity exception to the injunction. The government petitioned for Supreme Court review of whether medical necessity is a legally cognizable defense to CSA violations.