498
Opinion of the Court
missible means; their choice is not whether enforcement is preferable to no enforcement at all.9 Consequently, when a court of equity exercises its discretion, it may not consider the advantages and disadvantages of nonenforcement of the statute, but only the advantages and disadvantages of "employing the extraordinary remedy of injunction," RomeroBarcelo, 456 U. S., at 312, over the other available methods of enforcement. Cf. id., at 316 (referring to "discretion to rely on remedies other than an immediate prohibitory injunction"). To the extent the district court considers the public interest and the conveniences of the parties, the court is limited to evaluating how such interest and conveniences are affected by the selection of an injunction over other enforcement mechanisms.
C
In this case, the Court of Appeals erred by considering relevant the evidence that some people have "serious medical conditions for whom the use of cannabis is necessary in order to treat or alleviate those conditions or their symptoms," that these people "will suffer serious harm if they are denied cannabis," and that "there is no legal alternative to cannabis
9 Hecht Co. v. Bowles, 321 U. S. 321 (1944), for example, held that the District Court was not required to issue an injunction to restrain violations of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 and regulations there-under when "some 'other order' might be more appropriate, or at least so appear to the court." Id., at 328 (quoting statutory provision that enabled district court to issue an injunction, a restraining order, "or other order"). Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U. S. 305 (1982), held that a District Court had discretion not to issue an injunction precluding the United States Navy from releasing ordnance into water, but to rely on other means of ensuring compliance, including ordering the Navy to obtain a permit. Id., at 314-318. See also Amoco Production Co. v. Gambell, 480 U. S. 531, 544-546 (1987) (holding that a District Court did not err in declining to issue an injunction to bar exploratory drilling on Alaskan public lands, because the District Court's decision "did not undermine" the policy of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, 16 U. S. C. § 3120, and because the Secretary of the Interior had other means of meaningfully complying with the statute).
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