Raid Relief

Speaking of medical marijuana, today a federal judge in California will reconsider a request from a Santa Cruz patient cooperative for an injunction that would shield the group's members from future DEA raids on their cannabis crop. Last August, U.S. District Judge Judge Jeremy Fogel dismissed a lawsuit in which the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, joined by the City and County of Santa Cruz, challenged the federal crackdown on medical marijuana growers. Since then, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has ruled that the Controlled Substances Act "is likely unconstitutional" as applied to medical marijuana users in California, where state law recognizes the drug as a medicine. Aside from the drug policy angle, the case has important implications for interpreting the Commerce Clause and therefore for the distinction between national and state authority.