Federal prosecutors in the US have been ordered to stop cannabis-related prosecutions in the 13 states where medical use of the drug is legal.
Attorney General Eric Holder said it was wrong for federal resources to be spent on prosecuting people who were in compliance with existing state laws.
But he warned that the authorities would continue to go after traffickers hiding behind medical marijuana laws.
The policy is considered a sharp shift from that of the Bush administration.
California became the first state to permit medical use of cannabis in 1996. It allows special facilities to sell the drug and even to advertise.
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could continue to enforce US law barring the cultivation, possession and use of cannabis for any purpose, even when states had legalised it.
'Step forward'
But in a policy memo issued by the Department of Justice on Monday, prosecutors were told they "should not focus federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana". Read more...
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