SAN DIEGO -- Medical marijuana activist Steve McWilliams took his own life Monday.

Friends said McWilliams might have killed himself because he was afraid of facing jail time. They said he told them he might not survive in jail.

McWilliams -- the victim of a motorcycle accident -- said he smoked marijuana to get pain relief and that prescription painkillers were not effective.

McWilliams grew and delivered marijuana to sick and dying people. He continued to fight for the legalization of medical marijuana until his last appearance before the City Council last month.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled the federal government can prosecute seriously ill people who use pot. California's attorney general said the ruling will not affect the state's medical marijuana law.

Despite this assurance, the state's health services has suspended a program issuing identification cards to medical marijuana patients.