^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

Supreme Court Affirms Broad Reach of Federal Regulation
The United States Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Raich upheld the power of the federal government to regulate (i.e., ban) marijuana use under the Interstate Commerce Clause even when the state said it was legal, and even when the use was entirely intra-state.

The Washington Post ran an editorial which correctly pointed out that the Raich decision affirms the reach of federal regulation far beyond what the founding fathers may have intended when they wrote the constitution in the 18th century. Charles Krauthammer, a Post writer, agreed in a separate article. The Post editorial believes this extension of federal government regulation to be a good thing. The Krauthammer article does not.

CRE used to believe that the federal government's Commerce Clause powers were limited. CRE used to believe that Justice O'Connor's dissent in Raich is a correct statement of constitutional law:

The states' core police powers have always included authority to define criminal law and to protect the health, safety and welfare of their citizens.