News > Politics > US Supremes: Stoners Piss Us Off, Too

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MONDAY JUNE 6 2005 10:46 AM

US Supremes: Stoners Piss Us Off, Too

Submitted by Subrosa

Edited by Christopher

The US Supreme Court dealt a crushing blow to medical marijuana and state's rights advocates alike by ruling that federal authorities could prosecute medical marijuana users regardless of the laws of the states they live in.

Pro-Pot advocates had argued that the interstate commerce clause did not give Congress the power to reach medical marijuana users because the ganja was locally grown and consumed. No dice, says Justice Stevens:

Stevens said there are other legal options for patients, "but perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress."

This case provided a quandry for conservative and liberal justices alike. To rule against the dope-smokers was to rule for the triumph of federal power over state's rights. This tension was demonstrated by the identities of the three dissenting justices: Sandra Day O'Connor, William Rehnquist, and Clarence "Long Bong Silver" Thomas.

In a dissent, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said that states should be allowed to set their own rules.

"The states' core police powers have always included authority to define criminal law and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens," said O'Connor, who was joined by other states' rights advocates.

Bummer, man. Bummer.

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Comments

Helter

Chester, PA

OLD SKOOL

JUN 07, 2005 12:26 AM

joe_n_bloe said:
The federal government has long had jurisdiction over the states where drugs are concerned. Individual states can often increase restrictions on particular drugs, but they can't depart entirely from the federal government.

Yeah, but the problem is *how they got that jurisdiction*. The government does not have any native jurisdiction on drugs, they got it under the guise of regulating "interstate commerce". Clearly drugs that were grown with no commercial purpose, and are never transported over state lines *should* be exempt from federal legislation.

If medical marijuana is to be legalized, it'll have to be the result of action in the US Congress.

The courts could easily declare the feds jurisdiction over all drug related offenses unconstitutional. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it's almost a foregone conclusion that they will eventually.

s5

STAFF

San Francisco, CA

JUN 07, 2005 12:27 AM

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/011010.html

The decision seems counter-intuitive to me from a practical standpoint. Under federal law, possession of marijuana for personal use is a misdemeanor. Growing even one plant is a felony. So, what the decision does is encourage pot smokers to engage in a business transaction by buying marijuana in the marketplace, so as not to get tagged with a cultivation felony. Had the court ruled the other way, the marketplace would be diminished for these users as they could grow their own in the privacy of their own homes. Go figure.