The issue focused on co-mingling one "strange to the law" with another, which has been legal in some states for more than a century.

In court documents filed last month, lawyers for Justice Department lawyer Michael Barone said federal prosecutors were suggesting they should treat laws criminalizing financial crimes as medical legislation.

But attorney General Eric Holder's department did not change its position. The Justice Department asked the Court of Appeals to review the Supreme Court's decision.

Sikorsky