|
Medical
Marijuana:
Supreme
Court
Justice
Regrets
Vote
on
Raich
Case
8/26/05
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/401/stevens.shtml
Supreme Court Justice John
Paul Stevens regrets having voted to allow the federal government to enforce
the marijuana laws against medical marijuana patients in states where it
is legal, he told a meeting of the Clark County Bar Association last week
in Las Vegas. A copy of Stevens' speech was obtained by the New York
Times Thursday.
"I have no hesitation in
telling you that I agree with the policy choice made by the millions of
California voters," Stevens said. But given the broader stakes for
the power of Congress to regulate commerce, he added, "our duty to uphold
the application of the federal statute was pellucidly clear."
Since the court decided the
Raich case in June, federal law enforcement officials have raided numerous
medical marijuana patients and providers. Those people face stiff
sentences under federal marijuana laws and will have no opportunity to
argue in their defense that their use or production of the weed was for
medicinal purposes.
Stevens was part of a narrow
5-4 majority in the Raich case, where medical marijuana patients Angel
Raich and Diane Monson challenged the federal government's ability to prosecute
them for acts legal under state law. If Stevens had voted his heart
instead of his upholding a broad interpretation of the Interstate Commerce
Clause, the legal and political landscape in California and beyond would
look much different -- and much better. But he didn't.
-- END --
|
Issue #401
-- 8/26/05
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Regrets
Vote
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Raich
Case
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