Free da herb mon
| By Cathy Young | June 13, 2005 |
WITH EVERYTHING else going on in the world, it’s good to know that the federal government is being vigilant when it comes to the really dangerous people: those unrepentant chronic-pain patients who viciously insist on using marijuana to relieve their suffering. Last week in Gonzales v. Raich, the Supreme Court ruled that federal drug laws supersede the laws several states have passed in recent years legalizing the production and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Apparently, the actions of a sick woman in California growing pot in her basement for her medical needs affect ‘‘interstate commerce,” which means that the Constitution says it’s all right to bring in the feds.
… The persecution of medical marijuana users is one example. Here’s another: Under a congressional bill proposed by Republican Representative James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin, if you are aware of any drug use or sale on a college campus or in a home with children and fail to report it within 24 hours, you will face a minimum two-year prison sentence. Maybe we could call it Uncle Joe’s Law, since it has a distinct flavor of the Stalin-era Soviet Union where people could be imprisoned for failing to report political crimes. I’m not fond of Soviet parallels for the actions of democratic government, but this parallel does suggest itself. It’s all the more galling since this proposed Draconian measure is not directed at terrorists who want to kill us, but at college kids who want a few hits of pot.</i>
Good take on the recent SCOTUS ruling.
