Commerce Clause – Congress has the some power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes. These Three areas of commerce, a seperat power granted the the US congress. Also known as “Foreign Commerce Clause”, “Interstate Commerce Clause” and “Indian Commerce Clause”. Each refers to different application of the same single sentence in the Constitution.
Pertaining to this case, it is known that the Commerce Clause has weakened, thus giving Federal government more leeway in regulating and evforcing federal laws within a given state. Gradually accepting that “interstate commerce” can be regulated through the states, to expanding it to include transactions that affect interste commerce, to anything that Congress decides is interstate commerce.
Specifically, this Marijuana case is a “Commerce Clause” case. The decision will have ramifications that extends beyond medical marijuana.
In this case nothing was sold. Raichsʻ activities involving marijuana was in-state(California). There was no activity that was “interstateʻ(state to state) or “commerce”. Her Life depended on the use of marijuana, in which, was recommended by her doctors and allowed by state and local laws. The ruling of the court was to decide whether Raichsʻ medical marijuana was an act of interstate commerce or whether the federal government has to let the states handle medical marijuana.
Furthurmore, the federal government has claimed that as long as the activity is related to any other part of interstate commerce, then congress has the power to determine the bounds of anything pertaining to its discretion. The effect gives congress unlimited power to determine on what degree they may interfere in state law.
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2004/11/23/raichVAshcroftAGuideToTheS.html
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