Medical Pot Ruling Tramples States' Rights

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Justices Reinforce Government's Misguided War on Marijuana

Principle and compassion went out the door in the Supreme Court ruling that the federal government has the right to ignore state law governing medical marijuana use.

The court ruled 6-3 in a California case that federal authorities have the right to prosecute those who grow and use marijuana for medicinal purposes, even in those states where voters and lawmakers have approved the medical use of marijuana.

In doing so, the court sanctions the irrational fervor with which the federal government is pressing its campaign against marijuana, even absent compelling evidence that the harm from pot is any worse than that caused by alcohol or tobacco.

At the same time, the justices reinforce that the drug war is a compelling reason for the federal government to intrude on areas of the law that are constitutionally reserved for the states.

The California case involved defendants who were growing marijuana for their personal, medical use. The marijuana was not being sold or transported across state lines, and medical use is legal in California. The Commerce Clause of the Constitution should not have applied because this was a local, non-commercial product confined to one state.

Residents of a state should have the right to decide how to regulate the use of medical marijuana.

While there is no conclusive scientific evidence of the effectiveness of marijuana in treating pain and the side effects of chemotherapy, many of those who use it for these purposes say it helps. Given that often these patients are battling for their lives, anything that helps them with the fight ought to be welcomed.

But the drug warriors see medical marijuana as the first step toward legalizing pot, and perhaps other illicit drugs.

Marijuana is lumped in with *******, ****** and other dangerous, life-threatening narcotics, even though it has not been proven to be lethal, nor has it been proven to be any more likely to lead to the abuse of hard drugs than social drinking is to lead to alcoholism.

Still, taxpayers spend nearly $8 billion annually to combat marijuana. And now the Supreme Court has stretched the Constitution to its limits to allow the federal government to thwart the will of the states regarding medical marijuana use.

The justices, with this ruling, risk denying suffering Americans relief and open the door to unlimited federal intrusion on state matters.

Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2005
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2005, The Detroit News
Contact: letters@detnews.com
Website: http://detnews.com/