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Comment by Kerbonut | Hacker News Reader

SCOTUS ought to invalidate the DEA and drug scheduling considering they’re overturning other perceived federal overreaches.

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Did the DEA create the schedules? Or did the Congress? I thought it was a latter.

Congress created them originally, but they gave DEA very wide authority to change them.

(This is also why federal drug legalization could, in theory, be achieved through executive order, if Dems had the spine for that.)

Thanks didn’t know it was actually congress. Makes more sense to me now. But does congress even have authority to regulate that? Does it fall under unenumerated rights that fall to the people? I guess I remember hearing they regulate it under interstate commerce?

Yes, it's the expansive interpretation of the Commerce Clause. This is the Supreme Court case that fully fleshed out that doctrine:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn

Basically, if they can somehow connect it to interstate commerce - even if it very indirect, like in this case where growing something for personal consumption affected demand - it's "constitutional", supposedly.

This is the case that explicitly extended this reasoning to drugs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich

Republicans are in favor of the DEA and drug scheduling though.

That’s no longer true - Republicans are split down the middle on legal pot.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/356939/support-legal-marijuana-...

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