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While the subject of abortion is an extremely sensitive and hotly debated subject, the Supreme Courts written opinion will certainly have an affect on other issues, as well. Such as cannabis.
In the official written opinion by the Supreme Court, Justice Alito writes, “These attempts to justify abortion through appeals to a broader right to autonomy and to define one’s ‘concept of existence’ prove too much. Those criteria, at a high level of generality, could license fundamental rights to illicit drug use, prostitution, and the like.” So the court is basically saying that the criteria that defines personal autonomy is ‘too much’ for the federal government to be involved with, from their interpretation of the consititution. They suggest that if they had let Roe v. Wade stand, it could have implied that things such as drug use and prostitution would also be able to be considered part of an individual’s right to autonomy. So, to prevent that from happening, the courts are taking a hands off approach, and saying it’s not theirs to be involved with. And they send that sort of decision back to the states. If issues of personal autonomy are to be sent to state’s to be regulated, then that leaves open the possibility to argue that the federal government should also not be telling individuals what they can and can’t do with their bodies in regards to drugs or prostitution, either. It’s also worth mentioning, that last year, one of the most conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas, denounced the federal government’s inconsistent approach to marijuana policy, and he suggested that outright national prohibition may actually be unconstitutional. So we shall keep watching and see how this unfolds. Comments are closed.
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