Retired Supreme Court justice weighs in on healthcare debate

October 7, 2011

Washington D.C.: During an interview in Washington, now retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said he believes a 2005 ruling by the U.S Supreme Court involving medical marijuana lends support to the President's healthcare law. Justice Stevens authored the opinion of the court in the 2005 decision that declared it legal for the federal government to ban marijuana nationwide regardless of whether or not it crosses state lines or is used for medical reasons only. The healthcare case, just like the marijuana case before, does involve some contentions over congress's ability to regulate interstate commerce and, Justice Stevens, who disagrees with the healthcare law's legal opponents, said, "To the extent that the commerce clause is an issue in the case, it just seems to me very similar," in regards to the 2005 ruling.