meembo

Federal law supercedes state law in regards to commerce that can be conducted over state lines. Though this doesn't happen very often with medical marijuana, it is a legitimate application of federal law, which is much more strict about controlled substances in general than the handful of states which have legalized the use of medical marijuana.

Here in Connecticut it was big news that the Supreme Court ruled that wine could be sold and shipped across state lines when purchased over the internet. All the rich people here could buy wine and have it shipped to them, and the wineries were legally free to do so without fear of prosecution. It is the same principle. I quickly add that I am a big supporter of the medical use of marijuana (and otherwise, for that matter), and I see the political problems for what they are. As with the national debate about abortion, the right case has to come before the Supreme Court at the right time before fundamental issues are defined by the court. And I don't think the political issues are flushed out yet on this issue, until and unless the Justice Department starts to prosecute for interstate shipments and possession.

A quick quote from the NYT on June 7 -- "The appeals court had held that Congress lacked constitutional authority to regulate the noncommercial cultivation and use of marijuana that did not cross state lines.

But "the regulation is squarely within Congress's commerce power," Justice John Paul Stevens said for the majority on Monday. He added that the court's precedents interpreting Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution had clearly established "Congress's power to regulate purely local activities that are part of an economic 'class of activities' that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce."

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less I say, smarter I am