The 10th Amendment up in smoke

In one of the most grotesque displays of judicial activism since the last grotesque display of judicial activism, the Supreme Court managed to create new powers under the commerce clause (the regulation of interstate commerce) to allow federal law to supersede state law with regards to the growing and using of medical marijuana. Medical marijuana laws are state laws whereby residents within a state possess and use marijuana for the alleviation of suffering. With this ruling, the feds will be able to continue to kick in the doors of the sufferers of chronic illness and disease and drag them off to federal prisons for violating laws that should, Constitutionally, be superseded by the state laws that give them the right to engage in this activity. This is not an issue about drugs, but rather about states' rights, federal paternalism and the continued violation of both the letter and intent of the Constitution. Every justice that supported this action should be dragged off the bench by their robes and impeached. Those that dissented, to their credit, were Rehnquist, O'Connor, and Thomas. The fact that the dissenters are all conservatives reflects that the real issue in this case is states' rights, not drug use. Read more here.

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Libertarian Party Press Release

June 6, 2005

Libertarian Party Condemns the Supreme Court Decision Against the use of Medical Marijuana (Washington, D.C.)

In a 6-3 ruling by the United States Supreme Court, the federal government will continue to arrest and prosecute sick and terminally ill Americans who use marijuana for medical purposes. The decision supersedes state laws and the votes of citizens that allow the medical use of marijuana.

While the people of California and other states voted for the right of sick and dying patients to use marijuana as a medical treatment, the Supreme Court’s ruling permits the federal government to ignore the recorded decisions of an electorate.

Currently, ten states allow residents to grow and use marijuana for medical purposes. The court ruling, which was pushed forward by the Bush administration, not only lacks compassion for the sick but is also a clear encroachment upon states’ rights.

Libertarian Party Executive Director Joe Seehusen stated, “This ruling is not only a blow to the elderly, sick and terminally ill, but also represents the further decline of states’ rights.” Mr. Seehusen continued, “It is important that the American public does not minimize this issue by believing that it only affects ‘pot smokers’ as it is a much deeper debate involving the intrusion of the federal government upon the states, the power of the prescription drug lobby, and the growing limits on individual freedom.”

The Libertarian Party is a long-standing advocate for individual liberty and believes that Americans should be responsible for their own actions and, in this case, be able to use alternative forms of medication outside of the realm of insurance companies and the pharmaceutical lobby.

Working with like-minded groups, the Libertarian Party will help craft federal legislation that will assist individuals needing medical marijuana to pursue treatment methods without fear of arrest and prosecution by the federal government.