Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative

The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (OCBC) was a medical marijuana organization operating in California from 1996 to 2008. It provided cannabis to qualified patients under California law, which allowed medical use of marijuana. The cooperative faced legal challenges from federal authorities, arguing that distributing marijuana even for medical purposes violated federal law. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against OCBC, affirming that federal law overrides state protections and clarifying that marijuana distribution remains illegal at the federal level. The case highlighted the conflict between state laws permitting medical marijuana and federal statutes.