"States' rights have just been given another swift kick in the nuts."

Let me try to clear the air. When 4 liberal judges side with 2 conservative judges about drug laws, we need to be concerned. In one of the strangest twists to come out of the Supreme Court in over a decade, the judges took away the ability for states to exercise democracy.

If you follow the news in the least bit, you may already know where I am heading here. The Supreme Court ruled on Monday June 6, 2005 that medicinal use of marijuana is prohibited under federal law. This means that your usage of marijuana, as prescribed by a doctor, is now illegal. States' rights have just been given another swift kick in the nuts.
The 6-3 ruling by the Supremes, continues to show how far off in la-la land this tiny group of Magistrates actually are. The continued shift of All Encompassing Federal Power™ rolls on.

There are, or were, a handful of states in our glorious Union that had voted and approved medicinal use of marijuana to be acceptable. At last check, 10 states had exceptions for doctor-prescribed marijuana. Amazing, the simplicity of a functioning democracy.

The end result of the the Supreme Court decision is quite simple: the 50 states, and therefore the people of our nation, have lost yet another chunk of liberty. Yet another decision making process removed from our grasp. Instead, a small handful of people have dictated their interpretation of the protection that the Constitution was designed to afford us. To limit the power and reach of the government. It is ridiculous to think that everything you touch, see, eat, and hear needs to be controlled by an agency or arm of the government. A true sign of democracy's demise, when we are believed to be too ignorant, or too feeble to be trusted to make choices on our own.

Let's take a moment to set this author's standing on drug use. Personally, I don't partake of drugs or alcohol, and recently gave up cigarettes. I am totally okay with medicinal use of just about anything, especially when it can ease the pain or agony as one nears death. And, one could also sway me, with a strong argument, to legalize pot. We have a strange way of deciding what is and is not too dangerous for our own good. You can walk into almost any convenience store or super market and buy alcohol. Probably the single most dangerous thing in our nation. Hypocrisy? Nope. Pure and simple greed. The tax revenues generated by alcohol must be staggering. How else could you convince(?) a nation that being a drunk, is a disease (a.k.a. Alcoholism).

In an interesting turn of events, the 4 “liberal” judges voted with Justices Scalia and Kennedy in the majority ruling to elevate the power of the Federal Government. The 3 dissenters were Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice O'Connor, and Justice Thomas, all of whom would be considered strongly against illegal drugs. The 3 dissenters understood that this case had much more to do with states' rights and federal powers, than it did with drug laws.

In closing, here are some links to help study this case:
June 6, 2005 Gonzales v. Raich:
Supreme Court Link Here

November 9, 1942 Wickard v Filburn:
FindLaw Resources Link Here

Joe