The Pot Decision

The Scarlet Left: "This morning, the Supreme Court overturned medical marijuana rights in ten states as they proclaimed in a 6-3 decision that the federal ban overrides state law.

I'm inclined to agree with the dissent of O'Conner, Rhenquist, and Thomas, who maintain that their dissent is not an endorsement of medical marijuana but rather the right of a state to set its own rules.

This decision puts conservatives in an unusual position. You've got state's rights conservatives saying that pot is fine. I applaud the dissenting three for standing by their own state's rights interpretation of the Constitution even though it conflicts with their personal stance on medical marijuana. As O'Conner noted in the dissent, she would have opposed California's medical marijuana law if she were a voter or a legislator. But she said the court was overreaching to endorse 'making it a federal crime to grow small amounts of marijuana in one'�s own home for one's own medicinal use.'"