Keep Off the Grass Q&A
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Milwaukee Area Technical College *
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165-008
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Law
Date
Jan 9, 2024
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docx
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Uploaded by mrsluggo
Keep Off the Grass
The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is the statute establishing federal U.S. drug policy under which the manufacture, importation, possession, use, and distribution of certain substances is regulated. The Act classified drugs into 5 categories (referred to as “schedules”). Schedule I drugs are defined as substances with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-
methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote
The Green Bud Community is a cooperative organized to distribute marijuana to qualified patients for medical purposes. The U.S. government sued to enjoin Green Bud under the Controlled Substances Act which prohibits the distribution, manufacturing, and possession of controlled substances, which includes marijuana. The federal district court issued granted the injunction ordering Green Bud to cease its activities. When Green Bud continued to distribute marijuana, the court held the Coop in contempt of court. The Coop defended that it distributed marijuana only for those who had a medical necessity and that this provides a common-law necessity defense. A federal appeals court held that medical necessity is a defense that may be applied to the Coop's practice in equity. The government appealed to the Supreme Court. How do you think the court ruled? What would be the legal basis for such a ruling?
Reversed. In a unanimous decision the US Supreme Court [U.S. v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, - S.Ct. - (2001 WL 501567, Sup. Ct., 2001)] held that there is no common-law medical necessity exceptions to the Controlled Substances Act's restrictions on marijuana. Further, courts cannot use their powers of equity to ignore the judgment of Congress. The only use is for government-approved research projects. Congress has the Constitutional power to regulate drugs. Under the regulatory scheme, some drugs, such as marijuana, are schedule
I drugs, the most restricted. Congress has expressly considered this issue and refused to change the law. This is a situation illustrating priority rules (statutes take precedence over common law.
Note however, that it would be difficult to identify a "right" answer here. After all, if an analysis agreed with the appeals court, would it be judged "wrong" since it only mirrored the opinion of the majority of the appellate justices
and not the opinion of the majority of Supreme Court justices?
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