HONOLULU -- The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback to the medical use marijuana Monday, ruling that federal laws criminalizing marijuana supersede state laws that allow the drug to be used for certain illnesses. In Hawaii, physicians have prescribed more than 2,500 people marijuana for medical purposes. U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said the ruling will end that.

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"I believe medical marijuana is dead in Hawaii. It's finished. It's gone forever. Congress has decided, according to the court, to make marijuana illegal for all purposes except FDA testing and federal law will preempt state law under those circumstances," Kubo said.

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Medical marijuana users are stunned by the ruling and hopeful that Congress will pass something that will legalize what they consider to be their medicine.

"Of course it was sort of a disappointment, but we don't, haven't lost hope. We know there's some bills going through Congress right now for medical marijuana, and hopefully we can go through that avenue," medical marijuana user Rhoda Robinson said.

" I believe medical marijuana is dead in Hawaii. It's finished." - Ed Kubo U.S. Attorney

Most marijuana arrests are made by state -- not federal -- agencies. Because of that, Jeanne Ohta of the Drug Policy Forum claims the state program will continue, even though the feds could crack down on it.

"The ruling does allow them to do so, but the question is: Will taxpayers want their money, and there are huge budget deficits, to be spent prosecuting sick people?" Ohta said.

The U.S. attorney said federal prosecutors have been waiting for the ruling and now that it's come down in their favor, he said they're ready to begin prosecuting medical marijuana users and the doctors who write the prescriptions.

Kubo said the Supreme Court's ruling may also allow federal authorities to shut down the state's needle-exchange program. He said the ruling also applies to drug paraphernalia. He said the needle-exchange program may violate federal laws.