Amicus Brief

Reason Files Brief with United States Supreme Court Supporting Raich, Medical Marijuana

Angel Raich is battling an intimidating list of ailments including an inoperable brain tumor, a uterine fibroid tumor, severe chronic pain from scoliosis, non-epileptic seizures, to name just a few. Her doctor has stated it could “very well be fatal for Angel to forego cannabis treatments.” Reason Foundation filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the United States Supreme Court in the medical marijuana case, Ashcroft v. Raich, asking the Court to uphold the California law allowing doctors to recommend, and patients to use, medical cannabis. The Reason brief states that the government “has provided no evidence that California law does not effectively prevent medical cannabis cultivation from having a substantial affect on the commercial market for recreational marijuana…it is now a firmly rooted constitutional principle that unless regulation concerns the channels or instrumentalities of commerce, an activity must have a ‘substantial affect’ on interstate commerce in order to subject it to Congressional regulation under the Commerce Clause.”

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