Monday, November 29, 2004

Takin' a Hit With the Supremes

Today the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that has been misleadingly reported as being about the fate of the medical marijuana laws in some states. While medical marijuana is the issue, the case does not deal with the issue that broadly. Instead, the issue is really narrow: whether the intrastate production and possession of a controlled substance (marijuana, in this case) can be regulated by the Federal government. The logical extension of the Court's recent federalism cases would seem to say "no." However, it's doubtful that the Court, even the true conservatives on the Court, will follow their own logic that far. It will be interesting to see exactly what tomorrow's reports from the arguments have to say. Meanwhile, Reason has an interesting article wondering if the Court will go as far down the "states rights" road as it could.

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