In a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people who are taking marijuana for medical reasons, even in those states that legalized its use, can still be prosecuted by federal authorities for possession of the illegal drug.

The decision does leave an opening for the legalization of medical marijuana but according to Justice John Paul Stevens, who wrote the decision for the court, it will take a bill passed in Congress to do so.

Stevens wrote, 'but perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress.'

The case before the court involved home grown marijuana that was distributed for free and never crossed state lines. The court still ruled it illegal.

In her dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said that the states have the power to legalize the drug for medical purposes and that Congress need not be involved. 'The states' core police powers have always included authority to define criminal law and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens,' O'Connor wrote.

O'Connor indicated that she would vote against the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes if she were a member of Congress of a state legislature. Still, she thought the Supreme Court was overreaching its authority by 'making it a federal crime to grow small amounts of marijuana in one's own home for one's own medicinal use.'

Ten states presently have legalized the medical use of small amount of marijuana. In addition to California, they are Vermont, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Maine. For now, however, those using or growing pot for medical purposes will be subject to prosecution by federal authorities. The use of medical marijuana has now gone up in smoke.