Alabama Supporting Medical Marijuana

Raich v. Ashcroft, the medical marijuana case under appeal from the 9th Circuit, reaches the Supreme Court today. Randy Barnett, who blogs over at the Volokh Conspiracy, has a post on the case here. Another good post with some good background info is here. The case rests on the Constitution's interstate commerce clause and whether Congress has exceeded its authority by regulating the sale and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

According to Time magazine, Alabama has sided with California in the fight over medical marijuana. The issue is over who decides whether marijuana can be grown for personal use - the states or the federal government. According to Alabama's solicitor general, Kevin Newsom, "But this isn't about the drug war. It's about states' rights."

I hope this is accurate, although I haven't read about it anywhere else yet. It seems to me that marijuana should be treated like alcohol and tobacco, insofar as its localized use and sale should be regulated by the states. Congress's power comes into play as soon as the commerce crosses state lines.

This will be a very interesting case to watch, particularly in light of the Court's recent commerce clause decisions beginning with U.S. v. Lopez in 1994.