Will a new spending restriction end the Kettle Falls Five case?

Jacob Sullum, Reason.com

Last month, after Congress approved an omnibus spending bill that bars the Justice Department from spending money to "prevent" states from "implementing" medical marijuana laws, I suggested that the fate of the Kettle Falls Five would be an early indicator of the rider's impact. Last week a lawyer for those patients, who were arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration for growing marijuana in northeastern Washington and are scheduled to be tried next month, cited the rider in asking a federal judge to dismiss the charges against them, which could send them to prison for 10 years or more.