Prescription Proscription

Today the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear the Justice Department's appeal of a 9th Circuit ruling that declared medical marijuana use, when permitted by state law, to be outside the scope of the Commerce Clause and therefore beyond the federal government's authority to prohibit. At stake is whether the Drug Enforcement Administration will be allowed to resume its harassment of patients and caregivers in states that allow medical use of cannabis. The case is also a test of how serious the Court is about rediscovering the constitutional distinction between local and national matters.

Comments

[Ayatollah Usoe]

An earlier supreme Court found that growing wheat in one's backyard for his own consumption to be within the reach of the commerce clause. By contrast, this court found gun free school zones to be an unreasonable stretch of the commerce clause. I'll be watching this issue.

[dead_elvis]

Ugh. I'm not hopeful, considering how this court has been going. Prediction: 5-4 they overturn the 9th circuit. What bugs me is that it's guaranteed that Rhenquist, Scalia and Thomas already have their minds made up. Doesn't matter what the facts are, how the case is presented, those three are a lock for any Republican administration, no matter the inconsistencies.

[Mark S.]

Well, of course Scalia will rule against it. After all, this is just an attempt by the "Gay Agenda" to subvert the morals and values of America...

...wait a minute.

[Phil]

dead elvis, 48 hours ago I would have thought I could be certain of Scalia's vote on the detainee cases, too. Now, though, my whole world has been thrown into chaos!

[Sparky]

Where does Scalia get this rap? The guy is conservative, no doubt. But, anyone who pays any attention to SCOTUS decisions knows that Scalia has a mean libertarian streak, as a result of his following formalism (almost) anywhere it takes him.

I have no idea how the Court will come out in this case. I have a feeling they will overturn the 9th Circuit, simply because I can't imagine a USA in which the Feds can't do this kind of stuff (it's like trying to imagine heaven). That being said, I'm more confident in the Court's overall decision (reversal) than on Scalia's particular position.

[Xrlq]

Either "Dead Elvis" is a troll, or he/she/it is dumber than the real dead Elvis. All three of those Justices voted to rein in the federal government in the last two Tenth Amendment cases that came before the Court (Lopez in 1995 and Morrison in 2000). Worry about this case, all right, but not on account of those three. Worry instead that SAnDra DAY o'connor will make up some bogus distinction between this case and the last two, and join the four liberals who have long maintained that the Tenth Amendment doesn't mean anything.

[dead_elvis]

I'm not a troll, therefore I must be dumb. Thanks for the name calling.

Those three I mentioned seem to be staunch social conservatives, who, as a breed, would rather cut off a limb than see drug legalization get a foot in the door. They'll figure out a way to make the constitution fit their reasoning.

Of course I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

[dead_elvis]

Ooops. Too bad we can't edit posts here. I'll admit I just did some looking around and it seems Thomas is not necessarily socially conservative, in fact perhaps the opposite. Kind of gives me hope.

[fortyouncer]

It's my belief that they will side with the feds, then we will hear an uproar all over the country from social conservatives shouting, "activist judges!"

Right?