Gonzales V. Raich Case Study

Supreme Court Decision: Gonzales v. Raich The case of Gonzales v. Raich begins with the passing of the Compassionate Use Act, a California law that allows marijuana to be used medically. Angel Raich’s doctor recommended the use of medical marijuana for medicinal purposes; however, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents found the growing of Raich’s six marijuana plants to be a violation of of the federal law under the Controlled Substances Act. Passed using the interstate commerce clause, the act stated that possession of drugs was illegal, and did not recognize the use of marijuana medically. As a result, the question that was brought to court was whether or not the Controlled Substances Act applied to Raich.
The Controlled Substances Act should not have been applied because of how Raich was using the marijuana. Because the …show more content…
The supremacy clause states that “the Laws of the United States… shall be the supreme Law of the Land”. Therefore, the Controlled Substances Act overrules the Compassionate Use Act. Additionally, due to the nature of the market for marijuana, it only takes a small amount to have a substantial effect in the market. Not only that, but the national market for drugs was being regulated through the Controlled Substances Act, and therefore growing marijuana qualified as interstate commerce.
Even though the supremacy clause does enforce the Controlled Substances Act before the Compassionate Use Act, the Constitution was meant to limit the state's’ power. Because the constitution was written in a time when there were fewer states, it was important that no one state could hold too much power. Nevertheless, the Compassionate Use Act was still an overextension of the commerce clause by Congress, as marijuana used for intrastate needs does not qualify as having a role in interstate