The High Court Errs
That trend toward federalism must not be eroded by this case. The court found that even if the marijuana at issue does not cross state lines, its local use has enough implications nationally to invoke the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution. Thus, the federal law that controls such drugs can trump state laws on drugs. The harm in this 6-to-3 decision is that it further erodes the role of states as laboratories for social, legal, and political experiments…
That trend toward federalism must not be eroded by this case. The court found that even if the marijuana at issue does not cross state lines, its local use has enough implications nationally to invoke the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution. Thus, the federal law that controls such drugs can trump state laws on drugs. The harm in this 6-to-3 decision is that it further erodes the role of states as laboratories for social, legal, and political experiments. The nation has benefited from various failed and successful state initiatives since its founding. Wisconsin, for instance, was a pioneer in the kind of welfare reform adopted nationally in 1996.