How could the Commerce Clause of the Constitution apply to medical marijuana?
• Possessing, manufacturing, or distributing a “valuable commodity” to a “ready market” has previously been defined as interstate commerce which can be regulated by Congress under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. • Precedents have given power under the Commerce Clause based upon “the impact on the economy of an entire category of activity, taken as a whole.” • The government believes that the users of medical marijuana – buying it on the street or growing it – will have an impact on the local, state, and the national economy. • It is plausible that 100,000 out of 34 million Californians qualify for medicinal use of marijuana. 100,000 users will have an effect on the national economy 2. Why do Diane Monson and Angel Raich believe that the Commerce Clause does not apply to medical marijuana? The marijuana plants were intended for each woman’s use only. Because they were only growing for themselves, the marijuana could not have an effect on interstate commerce. Even if there was a
