A Legal Strategem for Pot Smokers

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Gonzales v. Raich (June 6, 2005), said in effect that the federal government can regulate the production of marijuana in any amount under the Controlled Substances Act, citing the Commerce Clause as authority. The Court later ruled, in Gonzales v. Oregon (January 17, 2006), that the federal government cannot rely on the Controlled Substances Act or the Commerce Clause to interfere with Oregon's legalization of physician-assisted suicide. The Court has now decided, in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita (February 21, 2006), that the federal government may not rely on the Controlled Substances Act and the Commerce Clause to bar the use of a hallucogenic drug by a religious sect.

The lesson for pot smokers is clear: You must find a way to use marijuana in committing suicide (in Oregon) or you must join a religious sect of long standing that uses pot in its ceremonies.