Noah Feldman considers how SCOTUS might weigh in on federal enforcement efforts in states where cannabis has now been legalized:
In practice, the feds cannot go after small- time growers in any serious way, to say nothing of users. Could they enlist state law enforcement to enforce federal law? The health-care decision says that Congress cannot threaten the withdrawal of major funding, and earlier precedent involving gun control says that the federal government may not commandeer state resources. So any federal effort to make states enforce antidrug laws would be subject to legal challenge.
The upshot is that de facto legalization of marijuana might occur even if the federal government never takes part. There will be no dramatic headline, as there would be for a same-sex marriage decision. But the will of the people will prevail, and the Supreme Court will not stand in the way.
The Dish 