Ok kids, put on your legal hats for a few minutes, and think more deeply about the technicalities of the law.

The “medical marijuana” Supreme Court case was NOT about whether we “Should” allow medical marijuana. Here’s a brief news item about the case if you haven’t heard yet: News blurb about June 2005 medical marijuana Supreme Court case.

The case was about whether the US Constitution (in the “Commerce Clause”) allows Congress to regulate the purely-local production and consumption of a product. In this case, the product happened to be marijuana. But in an earlier case, the product was wheat and the result was the same - Congress had the power.

The reason why Congress has the power to regulate local production of products is, simply, this: If there exists a substantial INTERSTATE market for a product, then ALL production of the product falls within Congress’s jurisdiction under the Commerce Clause. And there exists a substantial and lucrative interstate market for marijuana. Congress could amend the Controlled Substances Act if it wanted to, and permit locally-produced medical marijuana. See Gonzales v. Raich - The Complete USSC Decision from the Legal Information Institute.

I disagree with the result from a personal liberty perspective, but the logic of the decision is well founded in the history of the Commerce Clause jurisprudence. This decision was “conservative” in the sense that the Court followed the law (as layed down in a long string of prior cases) rather than legislate from the bench.

If the Court had ruled that medical marijuana was outside of Congress’s Commerce Clause power to regulate, then there would have been uncertainty in the business community about Congress’s power over many other products of a local flavor. Business likes certainty. This decision was “good” for the stability of American business, while being a missed opportunity to expand personal liberty.

Here are some links to give you a fuller understanding of the case and the history of the Commerce Clause.

• The Medical Marijuana Case - A Brief History of the Commerce Clause- from DailyKOS
• Gonzales v. Raich - The Complete USSC Decision from the Legal Information Institute

Below is a brief news item from FindLaw. But see the links above for a much more complete understanding of this complicated Commerce Clause stuff.

Supreme Court says government can prosecute medical marijuana patients
Supreme Court says government can prosecute medical marijuana patients

By GINA HOLLAND Associated Press Writer

(AP) - WASHINGTON-U.S. government authorities may prosecute sick people whose doctors prescribe marijuana to ease pain, the Supreme Court ruled Monday, concluding that state laws don’t protect users from a federal ban on the drug.

The decision is a stinging defeat for marijuana advocates who had successfully pushed 10 states to allow the drug’s use to treat various illnesses.

Justice John Paul Stevens, writing the 6-3 decision, said that Congress could change the law to allow medical use of marijuana.