Marijuana use has created legal controversy in the US in recent years. In May, the Connecticut Senate passed a bill [JURIST report] allowing citizens to obtain marijuana for medical use under certain conditions, making Connecticut the seventeenth state to allow sale of marijuana for medical use. Other states that have passed similar laws have run into trouble with conflicting federal laws regulating the production and sale of marijuana. In March, a federal court dismissed a suit [JURIST report] challenging US attorneys' authority to prosecute medical marijuana providers in California, saying the federal attorneys do have this authority. In January, the US District Court for the District of Montana ruled [JURIST report] that the state's laws allowing the sale of medical marijuana did not protect dispensers from federal prosecution. Connecticut has nevertheless been taking steps toward legalization of marijuana. Last year, the state passed a law [JURIST report] decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.