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View Full Version : U.S. judge in California considers argument marijuana law unconstitutional




twomp
02-12-2015, 01:55 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - A federal judge hearing the case of nine men accused of illegally growing marijuana in California said Wednesday she was taking very seriously arguments by their attorneys that the federal government has improperly classified the drug as among the most dangerous, and should throw the charges out.

Judge Kimberly J. Mueller said she would rule within 30 days on the request, which comes amid looser enforcement of U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize its recreational use in Washington state, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska.

"If I were persuaded by the defense's argument, if I bought their argument, what would you lose here?" she asked prosecutors during closing arguments on the motion to dismiss the cases against the men.

The men were charged in 2011 with growing marijuana on private and federal land in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California near the city of Redding.

If convicted, they face up to life imprisonment and a $10 million fine, plus forfeiture of property and weapons.


read the rest here:

http://news.yahoo.com/u-judge-california-considers-argument-marijuana-law-unconstitutional-024819962.html

Acala
02-12-2015, 02:35 PM
Probably a loser. The court gives administrative agencies deference in the field of their "expertise". The burden is upon the plaintiff to show that the rule is arbitrary and capricious. If the agency can muster any kind of weak-ass evidence, the court will give them a pass.

GunnyFreedom
02-12-2015, 02:46 PM
If they were making this a federal case, it should have been more about the Constitutional authority for the ban, and not whether it was 'dangerous.'

Sonny Tufts
02-12-2015, 03:15 PM
If they were making this a federal case, it should have been more about the Constitutional authority for the ban, and not whether it was 'dangerous.'

In light of Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S. 1 (2005), in which the Supreme Court upheld the power of Congress under the Commerce Clause to ban medical marijuana, a constitutional argument in the California case would not have succeeded.