Supreme Court judge calls for the lifting of the marijuana ban

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Monday what most of us think: The federal government’s long-standing ban on marijuana may have passed its expiration date.

Widely regarded as one of the most conservative high court judges, Thomas made the remark in response to the Supreme Court decision to dismiss an appeal from a Colorado medical cannabis dispensary that sought the same federal tax breaks as other companies.

Citing Gonzales v. Raich, a 2005 Supreme Court case that cemented the federal government’s ban on cannabis, Thomas said that given the growing number of states and cities that legalize it for both medical and medical use, Thomas said that the law was changing Accepted recreational purposes may have finally outlived its usefulness.

“Sixteen years ago, this court ruled that the power of Congress to regulate trade between states empowered it to” ban the local cultivation and use of marijuana, “Thomas wrote in his statement. “The reason, the court explained, was that Congress had passed ‘comprehensive laws regulating the interstate market in fungible commodities’ and that ‘exception'[s]”For local use could undermine this“ comprehensive ”regime. The court emphasized that Congress had decided “to take possession or use of [marijuana]’and had’ determine[d] Marijuana as contraband for any purpose. ‘ In the opinion of the court, the ban on any domestic use is therefore “necessary and appropriate” in order to avoid a “gaping hole” in the “closed regulatory system” of Congress.

He added, “Whatever Raich’s merits when it was decided, federal politics for the past 16 years severely undermined his reasoning. Once comprehensive, the federal government’s current approach is a half-in, half-out regime that simultaneously tolerates and prohibits the local use of marijuana. This contradicting and unstable state of affairs weighs down the basic principles of federalism and hides traps for the unwary. “

Thomas’s testimony is the latest sign that the federal marijuana ban may finally be enforced. Almost 40 states have legalized medical marijuana, while 18 have legalized adult cannabis use.

Coupled with public opinion polls showing solid majorities in favor of legalization, there is growing evidence that Congress is ready to take it seriously. In April Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats were eager to push for legalization.

“We will move forward,” said Schumer at the time. “[President Joe Biden] said he is studying the subject, so [I] obviously wants to give him some time to study it. I want to bring my arguments to him, as many other proponents will. But at some point we will make progress, period. “

The testimony of the Supreme Court judge is part of a larger movement

Last month the Democrats in the House of Representatives passed laws that would do just that. The MORE Act, as it is known, aims to “decriminalize and demolish cannabis, allow reinvestment in certain people adversely affected by the drug war, eradicate certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes”.

Thomas’ statement on Monday reflected the growing bipartisan consensus on the issue.

“A ban on the domestic use or cultivation of marijuana may no longer be necessary or

suitable to support the federal government’s piecemeal approach, ”wrote Thomas.

Suffice it to say, the federal government’s current handling of marijuana bears little resemblance to the watertight statewide ban that a narrowly divided court found necessary to justify the government’s blanket ban in Raich. If the government is now content with allowing states to “act as laboratories” and attempt new social and economic experiments, then it may no longer have the authority to in[t]The central police powers of the states. . . Define criminal law and protect the health, safety and wellbeing of its citizens. “