Gonzales v. Raich was a landmark case which determined the extent that Congress could regulate marijuana usage in California. More precisely, the case involves deliberation between the constitutionality of the Compassionate Use Act, voted on by the state of California in 1996, and the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), passed by Congress in 1970. Does the CSA, a policy which permits the regulation of certain drugs and chemicals by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), exceed the regulations set under
I — The Pragmatic Majority The questions presented to the Supreme Court in Raich v. Gonzales (2005) are whether the Commerce Clause affords Congress the power to ban the growth, use, and sale of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act and whether it can enforce that act against ill people whose doctors have prescribed medical marijuana as a remedy. Writing for the majority in that case, Justice John Paul Stevens employed Justice Stephen Breyer’s strand of pragmatism to answer those questions
Therefor since the marijuana is not being sold across state lines, the federal government should have zero jurisdiction in the matter. But because of the Supreme Courts decision in Wickard v.
The court’s decision regarding Gonzales v. Raich dealt closely with the Controlled Substances Act and how the DEA could handle certain events dealing with marijuana. In 1996, California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act which in turn legalized marijuana for medicinal use. However, California's law clashed with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which banned possession of marijuana. After the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized doctor-prescribed marijuana from a patient's
Oklahoma challenged Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana for over stepping their state power (Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado). Because of the impact that this case could have on upcoming cases, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case under Art. III sec. two of the Constitutions, which elaborates on their original jurisdiction (Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado). Upon the refusal of SCOTOS to hear Nebraska’s and Oklahoma’s challenge on Colorado’s legalization of marijuana, the federal
of Justice wrote a guidance memo to prosecutors, which states that prosecuting state medical marijuana cases is not a federal priority. Most medical cannabis follow a set of eight guidelines as stated in the article. In the landmark case of Gonzales v. Raich (2005), the Supreme Court established the constitutional right for the federal government to prohibit marijuana in any case. The Commerce-Justice-Science bill was a bill created to prohibit the Justice Department to use funds that prevent states
passed Proposition 215 - later known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 - they allowed patients who were seriously ill to receive marijuana as a form of treatment, with authorization from a physician. In 2002 the law came under question when Angel Raich and Diane Monson, both users of the so-called "medical marijuana", had their cannabis plants destroyed by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA had acted under the Federal Controlled Substance Act (CSA) to seize and destroy the plants. This act of Congress
The United States has a federal system of government where the states and national government exercise separate powers within their own spheres of authority. Federalism is a system of government where power is controlled by two levels of government, generally national and state. National government mainly deal with issues that affect the entire country, while state deal with smaller issues on a local level. James Madison says that the states and national government "are in fact but different agents
Many scientists, doctors, and patients recognize the medicinal utility of marijuana. However, the federal government opposes passing legislation that would legalize medical marijuana because of its potential to be abused or unregulated. The states are continuously challenging the federal government causing complications in legislation in regards to medical marijuana. Because of its history of medicinal properties and accumulating amounts of state and local legislation, the federal government should
In 1994, Christy Brzonkala, a student at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, stated that Antonio Morrison and James Crawford raped her. A year later, Brzonkala filed a complaint against Morrison and Crawford under Virginia Tech’s Sexual Assault Policy. After two hearings, Morrison was found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced to immediate suspension for two semesters. At some point throughout the duration of these hearings, Morrison personally admitted to having sexual contact