United States v. John Edward Schostag, 895 F.3d 1025

John Edward Schostag pleaded guilty (2008) to felon in possession of a firearm and attempted possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute; sentenced to 120 months and 5 years supervised release.
Supervised release included mandatory conditions prohibiting committing crimes and unlawful possession/use of controlled substances; Standard Condition 7 barred possession/use of controlled substances except as prescribed.
Minnesota legalized certain medical marijuana in 2014; in April 2017 Schostag informed his probation officer he had a physician-prescription for vaporized THC oil for chronic pain.
Probation notified Schostag that marijuana use—even if state-authorized—violated federal law and his supervised release; he tested positive for marijuana in May 2017 and admitted use.
The district court declined to find a violation, but modified supervised release to add a special condition expressly prohibiting purchase/possession/use/distribution/administration of marijuana and obtaining a medical marijuana card or prescription, superseding Standard Condition 7 as to marijuana.
Schostag appealed, arguing the court should have allowed medical marijuana use under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d) discretion; the Eighth Circuit reviewed statutory interpretation de novo and modification for abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether district court should have permitted Schostag to use state‑authorized medical marijuana while on federal supervised release	Schostag: federal court could use discretion under 18 U.S.C. § 3583 to allow medical marijuana use consistent with physician orders	Government: federal law (CSA Schedule I) makes marijuana illegal for any purpose; state authorization cannot override federal law or supervised‑release conditions	Court: Held the district court lacked discretion to authorize medical marijuana because the CSA classifies marijuana (THC) as Schedule I and federal law preempts state law
Whether adding an explicit condition banning marijuana use and medical marijuana cards was an abuse of discretion	Schostag: the modification improperly conflicted with his physician’s directions and Standard Condition 7's prescription exception	Government: the modification merely clarified that federal law bars marijuana regardless of state law or medical prescriptions	Court: Held modification was proper and not an abuse of discretion; clarifying condition accurately reflected federal law

Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (federal CSA preempts state law regarding marijuana; marijuana is contraband for any purpose)
United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Coop., 532 U.S. 483 (marijuana has no currently accepted medical use for purposes of the CSA)
United States v. White Plume, 447 F.3d 1067 (THC‑containing material is regulated as Schedule I)
United States v. Harvey, 659 F.3d 1272 (affirming revocation where defendant used physician‑recommended marijuana)
United States v. Weiland, 284 F.3d 878 (abuse‑of‑discretion standard; district court errs when it makes an error of law)