OVERRULING STATE DRUG LAWS

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have decided to resolve, once and
for all, whether California's Proposition 215 and similar medical-marijuana
laws in eight other states pass constitutional muster.

At issue is whether these state laws allowing "medicinal" marijuana
supersede the long-standing federal Controlled Substances Act, which
includes marijuana among the drugs whose manufacture and distribution are
illegal.

In 1998, the Justice Department secured an injunction from a federal
district court in San Francisco barring the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative and other similar "medicinal" marijuana clubs from distributing
the narcotic.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the district
court, declaring that medical necessity could be a defense to the charge of
distributing drugs in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

Of course, if the 9th Circuit's ruling stands, it would undermine the rule
of law. For the appellate court has decided, capriciously so, that federal
law may be disregarded under certain circumstances -- like "medical necessity."

If federal drug laws can be ignored under certain circumstances, then all
manner of federal laws might be similarly ignored -- including tax laws,
gun laws, environmental laws, civil rights laws, etc.

If exceptions are to be made to the federal Controlled Substances Act, then
it is up to Congress to amend the law. ... It is almost certain that the
U.S. Supreme Court will strike down these state laws as unconstitutional.