Assignments
Activities so far
As you proceeded through Module 6, you should have participated in the following online activities: poll questions and readings.
If you have not, please make sure you go back and complete these before proceeding. Further activities for this unit are listed below.
- WEBLINK READING : Details about scheduling
- WEBLINK READING : Fetal alcohol syndrome
- WEBLINK READING : "Milton Friedman-An Open Letter to Bill Bennett"
- WEBLINK READING : "William J. Bennett-A Response to Milton Friedman"
- WEBLINK READING : "Nadelmann: The Case for Legalization"
- Poll Question: Is the state justified in prohibiting everyone due to some people's abuses?
- Poll Question: Do you think marijuana is worth than alcohol and tobacco?
- Poll Question: Should marijuana be legalized for recreational use?
- Poll Question: Is Paternalism itself a justification to criminalize drugs?
- Poll Question: Is occasional recreation drug use a vice?
Discussion Exercise and Poll
The following case is taken from Duke Law's website, shown below. The case is currently being reviewed by the Supreme Court and a ruling is expected during summer 2005. Read the case below and answer the questions which follow.
WEBLINK: http://www.law.duke.edu
Ashcroft v. Raich
In 1996, California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, which provides seriously ill Californians "the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes" once a physician has deemed the use beneficial to the patient's health. The Compassionate Use Act, however, directly conflicts with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., which makes the manufacture and possession of marijuana illegal.
Raich is a California citizen who has used marijuana for the last five years under the Compassionate Use Act. She has been diagnosed with more than ten serious medical conditions, including an inoperable brain tumor, a seizure disorder, and several chronic pain disorders. According to her physician, Raich has tried "essentially all other legal alternatives" to marijuana with no success. Due to Raich's condition, she is unable to cultivate her own marijuana. She relies on her caretakers, John Doe Number One and John Doe Number Two, to grow it for her. Her caretakers allege they use only products originating within California to produce the marijuana.
Fearing raids and prosecution by the government, Raich the United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief based on the alleged unconstitutionality of the CSA. The district court denied Raich's motion for a preliminary injunction, stating Raich failed "to establish any likelihood of success on the merits." The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding the application of the CSA to Raich was likely unconstitutional and that she made a "strong showing of the likelihood of success on the merits." The court reached its holding by relying on the Supreme Court decisions in Lopez and Morrison. Following Lopez, the court found that Congress could regulate Raich's activities under the Commerce Clause only if her activities "substantially affected interstate commerce." Applying the four-factor test established in Morrison, the court held that "the intrastate, noncommercial cultivation and possession of [marijuana] for personal medical purposes" probably did not substantially affect interstate commerce and therefore the CSA, as applied to Raich, was likely unconstitutional.
The legal question for the court is w hether the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 801 et seq., exceeds Congress's power under the Commerce Clause as applied to the intrastate cultivation and possession of marijuana for purported personal "medicinal" use or to the distribution of marijuana without charge for such use?
In the Summer of 2005 the Supreme court ruled 6-3 in favor of the government in this case. This meant that the federal power to regulate interstate commerce allowed federal drug laws to trump state medical marijuana laws even if that marijuana was never sold or transported across state lines.
Questions for discussion
- Should the federal government be able to overrule the state and arrest Raich for drugs?
- Does non-profit medical use of marijuana "substantially affect interstate commerce?
- Do you support the medical use of marijuana when prescribed by a physician?
Post your answers to the Module 6 Discussion Forum.
Quizzes
Just a reminder, There are four quizzes in the course. Each quiz is worth 10 points. These quizzes are designed to ensure that you are keeping up with the reading assignments. The quizzes occur at the end of every even numbered module (2, 4, 6 and 8). Quiz questions are drawn from a random test bank, so it is unlikely any two students will encounter the same set of questions. You are free to use any materials you wish to aid you during the quiz however, quizzes are timed so you have only 20 minutes to complete and submit the quizzes. Quizzes are available 3 days prior to the due date giving you a total of 4 days in which to take the quiz.
The third quiz appears at the end of this module.