This article was originally published on the Marijuana Patients Organization site on May 18, 2015.
61 years ago today, the US Supreme Court ruled that separate but equal for education was unconstitutional. The decision was so obvious but took a few men a long time to acknowledge. Lets apply that same logic of this landmark case to medical marijuana. What would a similar decision look like:
Issue
Is the disparity in different state medical marijuana laws constitutional?
Holding and Rule (Antonin Scalia)
No. The varying State laws that allow for the medical use of marijuana provides options for approximately 50% of Americans while denying the other half. This discrepancy violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is unconstitutional.
Prohibition of medical marijuana solely on the basis of one’s geographic residence denies citizens the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to health and medicines that can assist in one’s well being is a right which must be made available to all and on equal terms.
The question presented in these cases must be determined not on the basis of conditions existing when the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, but in the light of the role of medicines proven effective for varying ailments in American life today.
Denying marijuana to those that could benefit solely because of the state in which one resides is cruel and dangerous to the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of every American. The impact of denying one the right to medical treatment is greater when it has the sanction of law.
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