cannabisnews.com: Tenth Amendment


cannabisnews.com: Tenth Amendment - Up In Smoke





Tenth Amendment - Up In Smoke
Posted by FoM on November 05, 2000 at 07:46:45 PT
By Richard Pearl 
Source: Liberty Magazine 
The United States Supreme Court recently issued a stay which prevents the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative from providing medical marijuana to those who qualify according to California Law 11362.5, sometimes called the Compassionate Use Act and better known as Proposition 215. Federal law states that there is no medical use for marijuana and any use of it is illegal under federal statute. 
About that there is no disagreement. What is in dispute is related to whether or not 535 members of Congress have the right to make medical decisions for every single man, woman, and child in America and overrule the medical judgement of physicians. Part of the dispute is over the disagreement about the medical efficacy of this innocuous weed. Also, part of the disagreement is over whether or not individuals have the right to use whatever substance they wish if they feel the use of that substance benefits their lives. But neither of these issues was at issue before the Court: the issue it faced was whether the federal government has the right to overturn a state law enacted by initiative. Can Congress tell the people they do not have a voice in making the laws for their state, or tell a state legislature that they, too, do not have the right to make laws for their state if those 535 people in Congress do not like the laws they pass? In the last few years, the people of seven states and the District of Columbia have passed propositions which would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. In addition, the Hawaii legislature passed similar legislation. All of these laws were passed by significant majorities and have the support of the majority of the voters. The only significant opposition to implementation of these laws has come from prosecutors, police officers, and the federal government. Michelle Kubby, wife of the Libertarian candidate for governor of California in 1998 and noted medical marijuana advocate, Steve Kubby, have stated, "This is no more about marijuana than the Boston Tea Party was about tea." She is right. It is not about what is good or bad, it is about power and control. This is really an issue that goes to the very roots of our constitutional government. It is an issue that will have far reaching effect on whether or not the Constitution is still the basis of our government or if we are now a government of the Congress, by the Congress and for the Congress. The law allows patients to have an unlimited supply of marijuana for any medical purpose they desire as long as they have a doctor's recommendation. This complicates drug enforcement because prosecutions for sale of marijuana are not based on actually catching people selling. They are based on the quantity of marijuana possessed or how it is packaged and stored: if the quantity of marijuana in possession of an individual exceeds a certain amount, the law presumes that it was intended for sale and that its owner is a drug dealer. If there were a legitimate, legal use for marijuana, mere possession could not imply intent for illegal sale. Prosecutors would actually have to prove that marijuana was actually sold for non-medical use. California's constitution specifies that initiatives passed by the voters become laws and that no government entity may disobey or ignore them, but police and prosecutors refuse to implement Proposition 215. Nearly every day, ninja-suited SWAT teams break into the homes of people who have harmed no one and destroy or seize their property for the crime of marijuana possession. California police argue they are making no judgment and will let the courts settle the issue. That is what the case that the Supreme Court will hear is about. The Court will have to decide if the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights have any meaning in the 21st century. Why is this an issue over the U.S. Constitution? Because the Constitution is a limiting document which grants certain powers to the federal government and specifically denies the federal government the authority to do others. Stated simply, the Constitution enumerates the powers of the federal government and then plainly states that those enumerated powers are all that the federal government has. Other powers belong to the states or to the people. In none of those enumerated powers does it give Congress the power to regulate what plants may be grown, what medicines may be used, or what laws a state or people of a state can pass, as long as those laws do not take away the rights and responsibilities of the Constitution. Plainly, any regulation of this sort must be done at the state level, if at all. The Court would do well to remember the words of James Madison, the father of the Constitution and the principle author of the Bill of Rights: "The ultimate authority... resides in the people alone." If the people can no longer hold an election and change the laws, being forced to suborn their wishes to the Congress, they no longer hold the ultimate authority. They are mere chattel of those who rule them. They are no more than slaves. If the Supreme Court holds that these elections can be overturned by the will of Congress, which election will be next? The great American experiment will have failed. We will have allowed ourselves to once again be ruled by an all-powerful government instead of remaining an all-powerful people. Source: Liberty Magazine (US)Published: December 1, 2000 Author: Richard Pearl Copyright: 2000 Liberty Foundation Address: Box 1118, Port Townsend, WA 98368 Contact: letterstoeditor LibertySoft.com Website: http://www.libertysoft.com/liberty/index.html Related Articles & Web Sites:The Kubby Fileshttp://www.kubby.org/Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Kubby Prosecution Ends Not With a Bang but a Whimperhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7487.shtmlOfficial Reefer Madnesshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6894.shtmlFighting Cheech & Chong Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6533.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #1 posted by MICHAEL on November 06, 2000 at 07:30:39 PT:
CLEAR
  Very well put!!!!!!!!!!!
[ Post Comment ]

Post Comment


Name: Optional Password: 
E-Mail: 
Subject: 
Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message]
Link URL: 
Link Title: