That kind of ruling just turns my stomach. The court used a an enumerated power--that was primarily intended to prevent tariffs being erected between the states

That kind of ruling just turns my stomach. The court used a an enumerated power--that was primarily intended to prevent tariffs being erected between the states--to effectively remove all limits to federal power. Gonzales v. Raich (2005)[1] is analogous to the Wickard v. Filburn case that you cite. In his dissent, Justice Thomas said the following: If the Federal Government can regulate growing a half-dozen cannabis plants for personal consumption (not because it is interstate commerce, but because it is inextricably bound up with interstate commerce), then Congress' Article I powers -- as expanded by the Necessary and Proper Clause -- have no meaningful limits. Whether Congress aims at the possession of drugs, guns, or any number of other items, it may continue to "appropria[te] state police powers under the guise of regulating commerce." [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich