The California law, adopted by voters in 1996, is part of a vigorous grass-roots revolt against the "Reefer Madness" message emanating from Washington, asserting that marijuana threatens the nation's very civic fabric. Of the nine Western states within the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seven now authorize marijuana use with a doctor's approval. Having failed to deter the voters, it was the Clinton administration that first decided to go after the doctors.

The justices offered no comment in denying the appeal of the Ninth Circuit's ruling, which held that threatening doctors' federal drug licenses for what they say to their patients within the framework of state law violates both the First Amendment and the principles of federalism that the Supreme Court takes so seriously.

But sometimes the court's silence speaks volumes. The justices nearly always defer to a request to review a decision striking down a federal policy, especially a super-heated petition like this one, which pushed every button from public health to the separation of powers.

So the unmistakable inference is that the court concluded that the Ninth Circuit got this one right.

But the Drug Enforcement Administration has vowed to keep fighting the evil weed. This story is not over.